India Stuns South Korea, Wins First Men’s Recurve Gold in 18 Years at Asian Archery Championships

India’s men’s recurve archery team created history by defeating powerhouse South Korea in a dramatic shoot-off to claim the Asian Archery Championships gold, their first in 18 years.

The trio of Yashdeep Bhoge, Atanu Das, and Rahul fought back from a 2-4 deficit to beat the Korean team of Seo Mingi, Kim Yechan, and Jang Jiho with a 5-4 victory.
In the shoot-off, both sides shot 29, but Atanu Das’s perfect 10 landed closer to the centre, giving India the title and ending Korea’s uninterrupted dominance since 2009.

This is India’s first men’s team recurve gold at the Asian Championships since 2007.

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India’s Medal Tally So Far

• 4 Gold, 2 Silver (Total: 6 medals)

• Compound squad earlier won 3 gold + 2 silver

• Jyothi Surekha Vennam shone with team and individual gold

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A Special Moment for Coach Rahul Banerjee

Coach Rahul Banerjee, a member of the 2007 gold-winning team, celebrated a full-circle moment—winning again, this time as a coach with his protégé Atanu Das and wife Deepika Kumari also in the squad.

Banerjee said:

“It’s really fulfilling as a coach. We defeated Korea and didn’t choke. The next target is the Asian Games.”

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Match Summary

• Set 1: 56-56 (tie)

• Set 2: 56-56 (tie)

• Set 3: Korea wins 57-54 (India trails 2-4)

• Set 4: India wins 57-53 (match tied 4-4)

• Shoot-off: 29-29 → India wins on closest-to-centre

Despite Korea missing Olympic champion Kim Woojin, their lineup included top emerging talents like Seo Mingi and Kim Yechan, making India’s win even more significant.

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More Medals Incoming

India remains in contention in individual recurve events, with:

• Women’s semis: Deepika Kumari, Ankita Bhakat, Sangeeta

• Men’s semis: Dhiraj Bommadevara, Rahul