Ankita, Dhiraj strike recurve gold at Asian Archery Championship
Ankita Bhakat capped a standout day on Friday at the Asian Archery Championship, stunning Paris Olympics silver-medallist Nam Suhyeon of South Korea 7-3, while Dhiraj Bommadevara sealed a composed 6-2 win in his final as India secured gold medals in both the womenโs and menโs recurve events on Friday.
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Dhiraj defeated compatriot Rahul 6-2, ensuring a 1-2 finish for India in the menโs final.
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Earlier, Ankita had edged past her senior teammate and former world No. 1 Deepika Kumari in a tense semifinal. Locked 5-5, both shot nines in the shoot-off, but Ankitaโs arrow landed closer to the centre, sending her into the gold-medal clash.
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She opened the final with authority, firing two 10s to take the first set 29-27. The next set proved scrappy, ending 27-27, with Ankita slipping to an 8 and Nam faltering to a 7. The Korean levelled the contest by winning the third set 28-26, as Ankita failed to find a single 10.
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Also read: Women recurve archers lose to Korea in bronze medal playoff
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Ankita responded with a superb 29-28 in the fourth set, regaining a 5-3 lead after landing two more 10s. She held her nerve in the decider, again producing two 10s to clinch a breakthrough victory over one of Asiaโs most consistent archers.
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India also secured the womenโs recurve bronze, with Sangeeta defeating five-time Olympian Deepika Kumari 6-5 in another dramatic shoot-off.
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The Indian contingent finished its campaign with 10 medals, six gold, three silver and one bronze, to top the overall standings.
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In the menโs event, after dropping the first set by a point, Dhiraj produced a near-flawless fightback to outclass 33-year-old veteran Jang Chaehwan 6-2. He hit three 10s in the second set to draw level at 2-2, then continued his commanding rhythm with two 10s and a 9 to take the third set 29-27. A final hat-trick of 10s sealed the win, completing Indiaโs sweep in the recurve individual finals.