30 September 2026 Punjab Khabarnama Bureau : Archery has emerged as one of India’s key medal sports at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, with Indian archers competing across compound and recurve events.
India’s campaign has featured strong qualification performances, knockout victories and multiple medal opportunities, with the compound teams reaching the latter stages of the competition.
India’s Strong Start in Compound Archery
India began the archery competition strongly in the women’s compound qualification round.
Chikitha Taniparthi topped the individual qualification with a score of 705, while Jyothi Surekha Vennam scored 699 and Prithika Pradeep finished with 695. The Indian women’s compound team also scored 2099, matching China’s total and finishing second on the qualification standings.
In the men’s compound qualification, Indian archers also produced strong scores, with Sahil Jadhav among the leading performers.
Compound Teams Reach Semifinals
India’s men’s and women’s compound teams advanced to the semifinals.
The men’s trio of Sahil Jadhav, Ganesh Mani Ratnam and Kushal Dalal defeated Bhutan 235-232 in the quarterfinals before setting up a semifinal against South Korea.
The women’s team of Chikitha Taniparthi, Jyothi Surekha Vennam and Prithika Pradeep beat Kazakhstan 233-230 to reach the semifinals, also facing South Korea.
Recurve Archers Also Make Their Mark
India’s recurve campaign has produced several notable results.
Dhiraj Bommadevara topped the men’s individual qualification with 698, setting an Asian and national record according to the reported results.
He subsequently defeated the Philippines’ Girvin Cullen Nigel Garcia 6-0 in the men’s individual 1/16 elimination and then beat Chinese Taipei’s Cheng Hsiang-Hui 6-2 in the last 16.
Neeraj Chauhan also advanced through the men’s recurve individual knockout stages, defeating Indonesia’s Riau Ega Agata Salsabilla 6-4 before beating South Korea’s Kim Je Deok 6-4 in the next round.
Women’s Recurve Results
India’s women’s recurve archers also progressed through the individual competition.
Kumkum Mohod defeated Mongolia’s Bishindee Urantungalag 6-0 before beating Bangladesh’s Saima Salah Uddin by the same score in the round of 16.
Kirti defeated Vietnam’s Hoang Phuong Thao 7-3 in the last 16 but subsequently lost 3-7 to South Korea’s Kang Chaeyoung.
Compound Mixed Team Competition
India also topped the compound mixed-team qualification.
The Indian pairing recorded 1414 points, finishing ahead of China and South Korea. The performance followed Chikitha Taniparthi’s individual qualification score of 705 and Sahil Jadhav’s 709.
The mixed-team competition subsequently became another medal opportunity for India.
Archery Schedule and Venues
The archery events are being held at Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Multipurpose Square in Japan.
The programme includes individual and team events in both compound and recurve archery, with qualification rounds followed by elimination matches and medal contests.
India’s schedule has included team semifinals and medal matches in compound archery, with the compound mixed-team semifinal also featuring India.
India’s Archery Medal Push
The Indian archery contingent entered the medal stages with several opportunities across disciplines.
The women’s compound team successfully defended India’s strong position in the event and later secured gold against China, matching the world-record score in the final.
Key Indian Archers to Watch
Among the Indian names attracting attention at the Games are:
- Chikitha Taniparthi — women’s compound
- Jyothi Surekha Vennam — women’s compound
- Prithika Pradeep — women’s compound
- Sahil Jadhav — men’s compound
- Ganesh Mani Ratnam — men’s compound
- Kushal Dalal — men’s compound
- Dhiraj Bommadevara — men’s recurve
- Neeraj Chauhan — men’s recurve
- Kumkum Mohod — women’s recurve
- Kirti — women’s recurve