Archery World Cup Stage 2: India stun China to win women’s recurve gold in Shanghai

India’s women’s recurve team produced one of the most memorable performances in recent Indian archery history, defeating hosts China in a dramatic shoot-off to clinch gold at the Archery World Cup Stage 2 on Sunday.

The Indian trio of Deepika Kumari, Ankita Bhakat and Kumkum Mohod held their nerve under pressure to seal India’s first Archery World Cup gold medal in recurve since 2021.

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India had already made a statement earlier in the day by stunning the powerhouse South Korean women’s recurve team in the semifinals to set up a gold medal clash against China in front of the home crowd in Shanghai.

The final turned into a gripping see-saw battle. India took the opening set before China fought back strongly to level the contest, eventually forcing a shoot-off after the four-set regulation ended tied.

With everything on the line, the Chinese trio shot 9, 9, 8 in the decider. The Indian archers responded with remarkable composure, shooting 10, 9, 9 to secure the gold medal. Veteran star Deepika Kumari sealed the victory with a crucial final arrow, sparking celebrations for the Indian contingent.

The medal was India’s second of the tournament after Sahil Jadhav opened the country’s account with a bronze medal in the men’s individual compound event on Saturday.

Read More: Archery World Cup Stage 2: Sahil Jadhav wins maiden World Cup bronze in Shanghai

Jadhav earned his maiden World Cup medal after defeating Denmark’s Martin Damsbo 147-144 in the bronze medal match. The 25-year-old lost the opening set 30-29 but bounced back strongly, winning the next four sets to finish on the podium.

Earlier in the competition, the eighth-seeded Indian edged past Austria’s Nico Wiener, the 2021 world champion, in a shoot-off after both archers finished level on 147 in the quarter-finals. His campaign ended in the semi-finals after a narrow 147-145 defeat to reigning world champion Nicolas Girard of France.

Jadhav’s impressive run also included victories over Indian veteran Abhishek Verma and Germany’s Ruven Fluss in the elimination rounds.

Meanwhile, India’s medal hopes in the recurve individual category stayed alive through Simranjeet Kaur, who reached the semifinals of a World Cup stage for the first time in her career.

Kaur’s campaign ended against Olympic medallist Kang Chae-young in the semifinals, where the Korean star secured a 6-0 victory. The Indian archer then faced top seed Jang Min-hee in the bronze medal match and pushed the Korean all the way in a closely fought contest.

Kaur started strongly, taking the opening set with a score of 29 to move 2-0 ahead. Jang responded immediately to level the scores at 2-2 before both archers split points in the third set after identical scores of 28. The Korean archer edged the fourth set by a single point, 29-28, to take a 5-3 lead. In the final set, both archers once again shared the points, handing Jang a 6-4 victory and leaving Kaur just outside the podium.

Despite missing out on a medal, the tournament marked a breakthrough performance for Kaur, who finished inside the top four at a World Cup stage for the first time in her career.