India clinched their first-ever gold medal in the men’s compound archery at the Archery World Championship. The Indian trio of Rishabh Yadav, Aman Saini and Prathamesh Fuge after beating France in a thrilling final.
The Indian men’s compound team clinched a historic gold medal at the World Archery Championships in Gwangju after beating France in a thrilling final on Sunday, September 7.
The Indian archery team of Rishabh Yadav, Aman Saini and Prathamesh Fuge has become the first to bag a gold at the Championships, as they made for a disappointing outing for the women’s team. Meanwhile, Yadav also secured a silver medal in the mixed team event, alongside Jyothi Surekha Vennam, after they lost the final to the Netherlands.
The Indian men’s archers defeated France in the final 235-233 despite having trailed after the first end. They stormed back in the next end with six 10s to level the scores 117-all. Both teams scored 59 in the next round to keep the score tied at 176-176 before the Indians found their best to nail 59 in the last end.
Fuge played a vital role in helping India win the final. Fuge, India’s lowest-ranked qualifier at 19th, started with two 9s in the first end before hitting six 10s, including one on the last arrow to help India win.
“It’s not just Fuge, each member of the trio showed character and complemented each other without succumbing to pressure,” India’s chief compound coach Jiwanjot Singh Teja told PTI.
Indian mixed team settle for silver
Yadav had a double medal hunt as he also bagged a silver medal in the mixed team event along with Jyothi. The duo put up a strong performance but lost to the Netherlands pair of Mike Schloesser, the world number one, and Sanne de Laat 155-157. India had a one-point lead after the first end but could not keep it to go down in another thrilling final. It was Jyothi’s seventh appearance at the Worlds.
“We’re happy to win a medal after missing out last time. The performance is there, but in sport, you can’t win every time. The Dutch were exceptional today.
“There’s pressure and psychology involved, but nothing to worry about going ahead,” Teja said on India’s mixed team prospects, especially with the event making its Olympic debut in the compound section at Los Angeles 2028.
Meanwhile, the Indian women’s team failed to win a medal at the Worlds for the first time since 2017. The Indian women went down in the pre-quarterfinals to crash out of medal contention on Saturday.
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