India makes it three out of three in archery, beat China in thrilling men's compound final

Sahil Rajesh Jadhav was the standout performer for India. He took eight shots in the final, and none were lower than 10.

India made it three out of three in archery, triggering a gold rush on Day 12 at the 2026 Asian Games. The women’s and mixed teams had finished on top of the podium in their respective events earlier in the morning at the Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Multipurpose Square in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. The men’s team followed suit with a thrilling come-from-behind win over China in the final.

India's Sahil Rajesh Jadhav, center, Kushal Dalal, left, and Ganesh Mani Ratnam Thirumuru, right, pose with the gold medals on the podium after the compound men's team final in archery at the Asian Games in Okazaki (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

It was a contest of two halves for India’s Kushal Dalal, Sahil Rajesh Jadhav and Ganesh Mani Ratnam Thirumuru in the finale on Wednesday afternoon. Kushal and Ganesh opened with a 9 each as India trailed China by two points after the first series. China’s Jiahao Liao, Jinyu Liu and Jingyu Shi, meanwhile, did not hit anything lower than 10 in the opening series.

India, however, went toe-to-toe with China thereafter, scoring a perfect 180 points across the remaining three series. China were outstanding as well, sending in seven more 10s before suffering their first blip on their 14th arrow, a 9 that reduced the gap to just one point.

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Sahil was the standout performer for India. He took eight shots in the final, and none were lower than 10. Kushal and Ganesh would have been under pressure after their opening 9s, but neither missed again. Ganesh, in particular, took his time before releasing several of his arrows and remained composed as the contest went down to the wire.

The Indian trio had set the tone in the semifinal against South Korea as well. They were ‘ten-acious’ through their first seven attempts before Ganesh broke the run with a 9, a shot that appeared to be right on the line.

South Korea, by contrast, made a disastrous start. Jongho Kim opened with a 7, and although Yonghee Choi followed with a 10, Eun Gyu Choi managed only a 9. South Korea then fought back with a string of 10s. After five consecutive 10s, Kushal sent in a 9, but the Koreans were unable to sustain their recovery after two further 9s. Kushal’s subsequent 9 therefore did little damage, with India leading by eight points after three series.

Kushal and Sahil both sent in 9s in the final series, but India still closed out the semifinal comfortably, winning 236-229.

India had won all five gold medals on offer in compound archery at the 2023 Hangzhou Games. The team has now defended three of those five titles. Ganesh and Chikitha Taniparthi remain India’s hopes in the singles events, with both through to the quarterfinals in the men’s and women’s competitions respectively.