Indian Archer’s Stunning Victory Stuns the World, but Silver Beckons at Archery World Cup Final!

Dhiraj loses bronze play-off India return with a silver from Archery World Cup Final

In a thrilling display of archery prowess, Dhiraj Bommadevara from India managed to create a stir by defeating the two-time Olympic team gold medalist, Kim Woojin, with a score of 6-2. However, his journey took a different turn as he faced defeat in his subsequent two matches, ultimately leaving India with a solitary silver medal in the ‘Archery World Cup Final.’ Despite sending their largest-ever contingent of five archers to the competition, India’s medal hopes rested solely on compound archer Prathamesh Jawakar.

The rising Indian recurve archer, Dhiraj, made a remarkable start to his campaign by making a remarkable comeback from a 0-2 deficit to secure a thrilling 28-29, 30-28, 30-28, 29-26 victory over the World No. 2 Korean heavyweight in the men’s quarterfinals.

However, his journey was derailed by another Korean, Lee Woo Seok, in the semifinals, where he succumbed to a 1-7 defeat with a score of 28-28, 27-30, 28-30, 28-29. This placed him in the third-place playoff against Medellin World Cup winner Mauro Nespoli.

The battle for the bronze medal unfolded as a nail-biting contest, with the Italian Nespoli ultimately prevailing 6-5 (29-30, 27-27, 25-29, 27-26, 27-28) after a tense shoot-off, where Dhiraj narrowly dropped a point.

Notably, Jayanta Talukdar remains the sole male recurve archer from India to have secured a World Cup Final medal, a bronze, 13 years ago in Edinburgh. Meanwhile, Dola Banerjee holds the distinction of being the only Indian to have clinched a World Cup Final gold, achieved in Dubai back in 2007 in the women’s recurve section.

When it comes to medals, Deepika Kumari stands out as the most successful Indian woman recurve archer, boasting four silver medals from various World Cup Finals.

The ‘Archery World Cup Final’ serves as the year-ending world outdoor competition, featuring a total of 32 archers, with eight in each of the four championship categories vying for the coveted gold, silver, and bronze medals.

Archers secure their spots in the tournament by triumphing in one of the circuit’s four stages, held in Antalya (Turkey), Shanghai (China), Medellin (Colombia), and Paris (France), or by consistently performing well throughout the season to earn a points qualifier spot. Additionally, one spot in each category is reserved for the host nation.