E-Paper
Asian Games: Can Indian archers hold compound ground amid rising forces?
China's full compound archery team excelled in World Cups, posing a competitive challenge for India's returning squad at the Asian Games in Japan.
Prefer HTon Google
Mumbai: This year, China did something they hadn’t in the recent past—field a full-fledged compound archery team in all the four World Cup stages, not just for their home tournament. The result? Their men’s team edged past India to take bronze in World Cup Stage 2 at Shanghai, and went better in the Antalya Stage 3 by capturing the country’s first World Cup gold in the event after beating India again in the semi-finals.
Recurve heavyweight China is emerging as one of compound’s fast-rising forces, after the discipline got its Olympic calling for the 2028 Los Angeles Games with the mixed event. So are some other Asian countries, notably recurve powerhouses South Korea and Chinese Taipei. Against this backdrop, Indian archers enter the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan with a dominant past but a competitive present.
Three years ago in Hangzhou, India swept all the five gold medals in compound, an unprecedented feat that pinned India’s supremacy in the discipline, as the champions of Asia also flaunted men and women world champions. In Aichi, matching that tally— India won 7 medals in compound—will take some doing.
The current squad features Jyothi Surekha Vennam, 30, who contributed to three of the five gold in Hangzhou, as the only recurrent face from 2023. Joining her are Chikitha Taniparthi, 21, and 17-year-old Prithika Pradeep in the women’s team, and Sahil Jadhav, 25, Kushal Dalal, 21, and Ganesh Thirumuru, 20, in the men’s team. All of them will debut at the Asian Games after a top-three finish at the selection trials in May.
The fresh and young look is not just restricted to compound. India’s recurve squad also has only Dhiraj Bommadevara and Ankita Bhakat from the 2023 group, which returned with two team medals. The other women in the squad, Kirti and Kumkum Mohod, are teenagers.
“India’s compound team was really solid the last time, and delivered an exceptional performance,” said Pravin Sawant, the coach of two Hangzhou gold medallists (2023 world champions Aditi Swami and Ojas Deotale) and one debutant in Japan (Jadhav). “This time, it will be fun to see what happens.”
Fun also because Asian countries are starting to catch up in compound. South Korea, Chinese Taipei and Malaysia also have a World Cup compound medal each this year. India have four—women’s team gold in Stage 1 and silver in Stage 4, Jadhav’s bronze in Stage 2 and Prithika’s bronze in Stage 4. That’s a drop from 10 through the four World Cups last year. At the 2025 World Championships, Korea’s Choi Yong-hee won the men’s bronze while the Kazakhstan women’s team stood third in compound.
“Not only with India, but even with the world, I would say,” Jyothi told HT when asked if the other Asian countries are catching up in compound. “China were previously only in recurve. This year, they had their entire compound team competing in World Cups, winning medals and being consistent.”
Sawant cited the example of an U-21 invitational tournament last month in Korea, in which Chinese Taipei beat India in compound. “We have been doing well, but so are the other countries in Asia now,” the Satara-based coach said. “These countries tend to be one step ahead in terms of planning and long-term vision.”
Korea roped in decorated Italian Sergio Pagni as their national compound technical head coach earlier this year. Pagni oversaw Indian compound’s 2023 boom and was the contingent’s coach in Hangzhou. In May, the Archery Association of India appointed American Dave Cousins, the 1999 and 2003 world champion, as the chief compound coach.
Countries like China and Korea adding compound archery to their vast basket of focal sports has a lot to do with the discipline’s Olympic stamp. The mixed event will debut in LA, and the Asian Games offers a quota to the winning team. India did not win a single mixed team medal in World Cups this year. Chinese Taipei won gold in Antalya, Turkey.
“Some of these countries are planning well for the mixed event,” said Sawant. “They are practicing more in pairs and pushing to improve their world rankings for the qualification path for the Olympics.”
For the Asian Games for now, a tougher test possibly awaits India, the reigning five-star compound champions.
