Indian Archers Shine at Asian Games 2026, Qualify for LA 2028 Olympics
Celebrating Indian Archery Success
Ranchi (Jharkhand) [India], September 30: Arjun Munda, the President of the Archery Association of India, expressed his admiration for the remarkable achievements of Indian archers and their coaches during the Asian Games 2026.
He emphasized that their accomplishments have brought pride to the nation and noted India's historic qualification for the LA 2028 Olympics in the compound mixed team event, marking India as the first nation to achieve this milestone.
“It’s hard to find words that truly capture the excellence of our athletes. The dedication and efforts of our coaches deserve immense recognition; no amount of praise can be sufficient. The athletes’ achievements, a testament to their coaches’ guidance, inspire pride in every Indian. This sport has paved our way to the LA 2028 Games, showcasing our qualification to the world. We are the first country to qualify in this discipline for the Olympics,” Munda stated.
At the 2026 Asian Games, India dominated the compound archery events, clinching all three gold medals in team competitions. Chikitha Taniparthi and Sahil Jadhav also secured a quota spot for the LA 2028 Olympics.
The duo maintained their composure to triumph over South Korea's Park Jungyoon and Choi Yonghee in a shoot-off after the gold medal match concluded in a tie at 157-157.
Previously, Chikitha and Sahil narrowly defeated Thailand's Kanoknapus Kaewchomphu and Peerawat Rattanapongkiat with a score of 156-155 in a tightly contested semi-final.
This victory marked Chikitha's second gold of the day, as she had earlier partnered with Jyothi Surekha Vennam and Prithika Pradeep to defend India's women's compound team title successfully.
India completed a clean sweep of the compound archery team gold medals when Sahil, Ganesh Mani Ratnam Thirumuru, and Kushal Dalal narrowly defeated China 238-237 in a thrilling men's team final.
Despite trailing 60-58 after the first end due to two nines, the Indian team responded with an impressive performance, scoring a perfect 180 with their remaining 18 arrows to secure a dramatic victory.