Asian Games 2026: Thrice and nice for India’s golden arrows

Chikitha Taniparthi (right) and Sahil Jadhav compete in the compound mixed team archery final against South Korea on Wednesday. Pics/PTI

India's compound archers displayed admirable poise under pressure to complete a golden sweep in the Asian Games team competitions, successfully defending their crowns in men's, women's, and mixed events here on Wednesday.

The cherry on top was the mixed combination of Chikitha Taniparthi and Sahil Jadhav also securing an Olympic quota place for the country following their top finish. India thus became the first country to qualify for the 2028 Olympics in the compound mixed team event, which will mark the discipline's debut in the Los Angeles Games.

The women's trio of Jyothi Surekha Vennam, Chikitha, and Prithika Pradeep kicked off the gold rush that culminated in the men's combination of Kushal Dalal, Sahil Jadhav, and Ganesh Mani Ratnam Thirumuru rallying to outwit the Chinese trio of Jiahao Liao, Jinyi Liu, and Jingyu Shi in the finals 238-237.

Compound men's team archers Kushal Dalal (left), Sahil Jadhav (centre), and Ganesh Mani Ratnam Thirumuru with their gold medals

For Chikitha and Sahil, the day brought two gold medals as they had earlier shown nerves of steel to prevail over Korea's Jungyoon Park and Choi Eun Gyu in a thrilling mixed team final, winning 158-157 after a shoot-off. "It's awesome. We were so confident when we were playing team matches. I have trust on my teammates, they have trust on me. We will shoot our best in any condition," Sahil said after winning the men's team gold.

The Indian women's compound team produced a sensational show to outclass the Chinese trio of Wunier, Yue Wang, and Fangyao Wei 238-234 and retain its gold with a world record-equalling score.

Jyothi, Chikitha, and Prithika dominated the women's summit clash to secure the top spot on the podium. Of these, Jyothi was a part of the gold-winning women's team in Hangzhou as well. "We pushed each other and kept telling each other that we have to give our best. Even if we had one bad shot, a nine score, we kept bucking each other up and saying ‘Get back to what you know best and keep focusing on that'," said Prithika.

Prithika Pradeep (left), Chikitha Taniparthi (centre), and Jyothi Surekha Vennam with their respective women's archery team gold medals

"I know it's a big tournament, but at the end of the day it's the same people, it's the same archery that I have to shoot. So I was just focusing on that to be honest. But it feels really good to win gold with my teammates," she added.

From karate to two archery golds: Dad's push to get Chikitha into sport pays off

The two gold medals that young compound archer Chikitha Taniparthi, 21, collected in her Asian Games debut have not just announced her arrival on the big stage, but also vindicated a choice that her sports tragic father made for her when she was a school-going child, more interested in pursuing karate.

"I didn't get into archery on my own. It was my father's choice. He wanted me to play sport because he couldn't play any sport. When I was small, he used to take us to playgrounds. Every day we used to play some games," she recalled.

"In school, from 6th grade to 8th grade, I was doing karate. I got my first black belt also," said the youngster. Her first bow was a toy gifted by her uncle on Dussehra. It intrigued her and she quite enjoyed playing with it, shooting arrows on a target she created in her backyard.

"My father's younger brother bought a me a recurve bow. We used to shoot just for fun at that time," she recalled. Once he realised that Chikitha had potential, her father Srinvasa Rao took a loan to buy her upgraded equipment. She started pursuing archery more seriously in 2018 and was picked for the junior camp in 2021.

60
No of points scored by India's men in each of their last three sets (2, 3, and 4) to clinch compound team gold

238
No of points scored by India's women's compound team in the final - a world record-equalling score

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