Indian recurve archer Neeraj Chauhan stunned three-time Olympic team gold medallist Kim Je-deok of South Korea 6-4 to reach the men’s individual quarter-finals at the Asian Games 2026 on Tuesday.
Neeraj took an early 3-1 lead before Kim fought back to level the contest at 3-3. A tied fourth set made it 4-4, but the Indian held his nerve in the deciding set to seal a notable victory over the South Korean.
Kim won mixed team and men’s team gold at Tokyo 2020 and went on to defend the men’s team title at Paris 2024.
Meanwhile, Dhiraj Bommadevara, who has been in outstanding form this month, also advanced to the quarter-finals with a 6-2 victory over Chinese Taipei’s Cheng Hsiang-Hui.
Dhiraj had earlier defeated the Philippines’ Girvin Garcia 6-0 in the round of 32, winning all three sets.
The 25-year-old Indian Army archer comes into the Asian Games after making history at the 2026 Archery World Cup Final in Saltillo, Mexico, on September 13, where he won the men’s individual recurve gold.
The triumph made him the first Indian male recurve archer to win an individual title at the season-ending World Cup Final and only the second Indian archer overall to achieve the feat, after Dola Banerjee in 2007.
Dhiraj will face Uzbekistan’s Amirkon Sadikov in the quarter-finals, while Neeraj takes on Bhutan’s Dorji Lam on Saturday.
Earlier, Dhiraj and Neeraj had helped India’s men’s recurve team reach the semi-finals with a 5-1 win over China, alongside Yashdeep Bhoge. The women’s team of Kumkum Anil Mohod, Kirti Sharma and Ankita Bhakat also advanced after beating Chinese Taipei 6-0.
The mixed recurve pair of Dhiraj and Kumkum have also reached the semi-finals.
All three Indian teams will compete in their respective semi-finals on October 2. The men will face Iran, the women will take on China, while the mixed team will meet Japan.
The Asian Games also offer a pathway to the LA28 Olympics, with eight quota places available across the recurve and compound events.
India enjoyed its most successful Asian Games archery campaign at Hangzhou 2023, winning a record nine medals – five gold, two silver and two bronze.