A Golden Harvest for India
At the 2025 Asian Archery Championships in Dhaka, the Indian contingent delivered a commanding performance, particularly in the compound discipline. The campaign was marked by major successes across women’s, mixed, and men’s team events.
Highlights
The Indian women’s compound team — comprising Jyothi Surekha Vennam, Deepshikha and Prithika Pradeep — clinched gold after an intense 236–234 win over South Korea in the final.
In the mixed-team compound event, India’s pair of Abhishek Verma and Deepshikha secured gold by defeating Bangladesh 153–151.
The men’s compound team finished with a silver medal, after a close 229–230 loss to Kazakhstan.
In individual events, Jyothi Surekha Vennam added further glory by winning the women’s individual compound gold, defeating her compatriot Prithika Pradeep 147–145.
On the recurve side, India made significant inroads: in the women’s recurve individual event, three Indian archers — Deepika Kumari, Ankita Bhakat, and Sangeeta — reached the semifinals, guaranteeing at least one medal in that category.
What This Performance Signals
This performance underscores several positive trends for Indian archery:
A deep squad capable of winning not just in one format, but in teams (women’s, mixed) and individually.
Strong dominance in the compound discipline, which until recently had been overshadowed by recurve events globally, but India has clearly asserted strength here.
Encouraging improvement in recurve events as well: making the semis in women’s recurve signals that India is becoming more competitive across the board.
Ability to perform under pressure: narrow finals, critical last-arrows, and Indian archers held composure in tight situations (e.g., 236-234, 147-145) — which speaks to training, experience, mindset.
Latest Update
After the latest session, India’s compound archery tally stands at three golds and two silvers at this championship.
In particular, Jyothi Surekha Vennam became the first Indian archer to win three individual Asian Championship titles in the women’s compound category.
The mixed-team recurve event remains open: India’s recurve mixed team progressed to a bronze-medal playoff against Korea.
India’s women’s pop-up in recurve individual (three semifinalists) is historic — this opens up a fresh chapter for recurve archery in India.
Looking Ahead
With the momentum from Dhaka, the Indian archery team can build towards upcoming major global events with confidence. Key focus areas:
Converting semifinal appearances (especially in recurve) into gold-medal wins.
Maintaining consistency in the compound discipline while pushing the performance envelope (higher qualification scores, fewer dropped arrows).
Leveraging team success into stronger individual performances, because international events increasingly reward versatility across team & individual formats.
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