India had a successful outing at the Archery World Cup Stage 2 in Shanghai, bagging four medals, including a gold in the compound men’s team event, a silver in the women’s team event, and a bronze in the mixed team competition, on Saturday.
Madhura Dhamangaonkar claimed her first individual World Cup gold at the Archery World Cup Stage 2 with a sensational 139-138 victory over USA’s Carson Krahe in the final on Saturday.
Madhura, who is unranked in the World Archery rankings for not competing at the international level for three years, was trailing 81-85 after a costly seven in the third end.
But the 24-year-old showed remarkable composure under pressure, dropping just one point in a near-flawless fourth end to level the score at 110-all.
In the decider, she held her nerves with two perfect 10s — both X scores of arrows closer to the centre — and a 9 to edge past Krahe by one-point in a thrilling finish.
This was Madhura’s third medal of the event, having earlier won a silver in the women’s team event and a bronze in the compound mixed team event alongside Abhishek Verma, marking a remarkable return to international archery after three years.
The men’s team, comprising Abhishek Verma, Ojas Deotale and Rishabh Yadav defeated Mexico 232-228 in the final. The Indian trio shot consistently across all four ends and held their nerve to clinch a well-deserved gold medal.
In the women’s team event, the team of Jyothi Surekha Vennam, Madhura Dhamangaonkar and Chikitha Taniparthi settled for silver after a 221-234 loss to a strong Mexican side. It was a one-sided contest, but the Indian women showed promise throughout the tournament and finished with a podium finish.
Adding to the medal tally, the Indian compound mixed team of Verma and Madhura clinched bronze, defeating Malaysia in a low-scoring third-place playoff.
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With compound archery set to make its Olympic debut at Los Angeles 2028 featuring a solitary event in the mixed team category, India will be eyeing its first-ever Olympic medal in archery and performances like these offer plenty of promise.
