Indian men’s compound archery team clinched gold at the Asian Games, beating China 238-237 in a thrilling final. Sahil Jadhav was the hero with a perfect score. This was the third gold for Indian compound archers at the event.
Indian Men’s Team Clinches Gold in Thriller
Indian mens’ compound archery made it three-out-of-three gold medals for compound archers so far at the ongoing Asian Games, beating China in a cracker of a title clash at Aichi-Nagoya on Wednesday. India beat China 238-237 in the final. The hero of the final was undoubtedly Sahil Jadhav, who finished with a 100 per cent record of hitting 10s. Kushal Dalal and Ganesh Mani Ratnam also did a fabulous job. This is India’s 58th medal at the Asian Games 22026 and 10th gold, besides 21 bronze medals and 27 bronze medals.
China started off with three perfect 10s, while for India, Kushal hit a nine after 10s from Sahil and Ganesh, India were trailing by a point. In the second rotation, China had everything perfect, while India had a nine from Ganesh and 10s from Kushal and Sahil. India were trailing 60-58, as per ESPN.
Despite all the effort from India, the Chinese continued to stay perfect, delivering 10s. India also delivered some perfect 10s, but it was China who maintained a two-point lead halfway, 120-118.
India shot three perfect 10s, making it 148 out of 150, while China managed a 10, 9 and a 10, with their lead cut down to one point at 149-148.
India kept on piling pressure while China was matching them step-by-step, with China maintaining a one-point lead, 179-178.
As the final end started, the Indian trio managed perfect 10s, while the Chinese managed an eight, which was subject to a review and two tens. China still maintained a one point lead at 208-207. Sahil’s final shot was a 10, and he finished with a 100 per cent record of 10s. Kushal and Ganesh shot 10s too. China also responded with three tens and awaited a review for a shot judged as an eight-pointer. India eventually managed to come out on top.
Earlier, the trio of Sahil, Kushal, Ganesh beat South Korea 236-229 in the semifinals, setting the stage for a hat-trick of compound archery to set up the title clash.
Women’s Team Strikes Gold, Equals World Record
Earlier, the Indian archery trio of Jyothi Surekha Vennam, Chikitha Taniparthi and Prithika Pradeep secured a sensational gold medal for the nation, beating China in the final of the women’s compound archery team event, as per ESPN.
Indian archers were absolutely clinical in the title clash against China, beating them 238-234. India maintained their lead right from the first rotation, giving Jyothi her fourth Asian Games gold and a first Asiad gold medal to Chikitha and Prithika. They equalled South Korea’s world record of 238, set in 2014, to secure the gold.
Mixed Team Completes Golden Hat-trick
Later on, archers Chikitha Taniparthi and Sahil Jadhav clinched the Gold medal in the compound mixed team event after defeating South Korea in a thrilling shoot-off on Wednesday. The gold medal win also earned India a qualification quota for the compound mixed team event at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
The Indian duo held their nerve in a tense final, forcing a shoot-off after the scores were tied, before sealing the Gold medal with a tense finish in the decider. (ANI)
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