Fearless India stun Olympic champions Korea twice for historic double World Cup gold

Indian recurve archers created history at the Archery World Cup Stage 3 in Antalya, defeating powerhouse South Korea twice in one day. Dhiraj Bommadevara clinched a golden double—winning the mixed team event with teenage sensation Kumkum Mohod and the individual crown

Antalya: A fearless new generation of Indian recurve archers announced its arrival in style on Sunday as India defeated archery powerhouse South Korea twice in a single day to secure a historic double gold haul at the Archery World Cup Stage 3 here.

Paris Olympian c emerged the star of the campaign, first combining with 17-year-old Kumkum Mohod to stun the Olympic champions in the recurve mixed team final before overcoming Paris Olympics bronze medallist Lee Woo Seok to clinch his maiden individual World Cup gold.

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It was the first time India had won two gold medals at a single World Cup stage by defeating South Korea, long considered their nemesis in recurve archery.

The performance helped India finish second in medals tally behind China (three gold, one bronze), while Korea were pushed to fourth spot (1-2-1). Mexico were third.

The twin triumphs also underlined India’s new-found resurgence in the recurve section, where has now beaten the Koreans twice in successive World Cups.

At the Shanghai World Cup last month, the women’s team of Deepika Kumari, Ankita Bhakat and Kumkum had shocked the record 10-time Olympic champions in the semifinals en route to winning gold beating China.

On Sunday, India went one step further.

The 24-year-old Dhiraj and world Cup debutant Kumkum defeated Kim Je-deok and Oh Ye-jin 5-1 (37-36, 37-36, 39-39) in the recurve mixed team final, producing a composed and clinical display against one of the sport’s most decorated teams.

Kim was part of South Korea’s Tokyo Olympics mixed team gold-winning combination alongside An San and also a member of the back to back Olympics gold medal-winning men’s teams in 2021 and Paris 2024.

Unlike in the past, the Indians never looked intimidated and carried their confidence from start to last arrow.

After taking the opening set 37-36 following a score revision, they edged the second set by the identical margin when Dhiraj drilled a pressure 10 with the final arrow.

Needing only a draw in the third set, the duo responded with perfect 10s from their final arrows to match Korea’s 39 and seal the gold.

Kumkum, meanwhile, completed back-to-back World Cup golds after helping India win the women’s team title in Shanghai last month where she had shot the winning arrow in a shoot-off against China.

“I believed in myself completely. I just focused on the process and didn’t think about who was standing in front of me,” Kumkum said.

“I think I shot better today than I did in Shanghai. But that gold medal there gave me a lot of confidence.”

For Dhiraj, who had previously won mixed team bronze medals with Ankita Bhakat in 2024 and Bhajan Kaur in 2025, it was a long-awaited breakthrough on the biggest World Cup stage.

“When I play with her, honestly I’m learning more from her,” Dhiraj said of his teenage partner.

“I share my experience, but I learn even more from her fearlessness. She shoots with the attitude that it doesn’t matter who is in front. It’s an exchange of experiences.

“It was never over until it was over. We kept fighting till the last arrow. Whether we were ahead or behind didn’t matter. We focused only on the things that mattered. It was totally about team bonding.”

Dhiraj also credited the support staff, the national federation and the SAI behind the team’s success.

Golden double

Returning to compete in the individual section after a couple of hours, the world no 18 Dhiraj later completed a golden double by defeating Lee Woo Seok 7-3 in a gripping individual recurve final.

The Indian surged to a 5-1 lead after winning the first two sets 30-29 and 29-28 and drawing the third 27-27.

Lee reduced the deficit by taking the fourth set 29-27, but Dhiraj held his nerve in the decider, drilling in three successive perfect 10s, including an X, to close out the contest in an emphatic fashion.

The gold was particularly significant as it ended a 14-year wait for an Indian recurve archer to beat a Korean opponent in a World Cup gold medal match.

The last Indian to achieve the feat was Deepika Kumari in Antalya in 2012.

Earlier in the semifinals, Dhiraj staged a stirring comeback to defeat Germany’s Moritz Wieser 6-4.

Trailing 2-4 after three sets following a 26-27 opening-set loss and two tied sets, Dhiraj responded with three perfect 10s to take the fourth set 30-27.

Compound concern

The performance, however, also highlighted the contrasting fortunes of the compound squad who returned without a medal for the first time in recent memory despite dominating the discipline over the past few seasons.

India’s compound archers had managed a women’s team gold in the season-opening World Cup in Puebla, Mexico and a bronze through Sahil Jadhav in Shanghai last month.

For a team that swept all five compound gold medals at the Hangzhou Asian Games, the dip in results is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore ahead of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in less than three months’ time.

“It’s really alarming for compound archers. It’s an irony that when recurve starts to peak, we are seeing a downward spiral in compound,” coach Rahul Banerjee told PTI.

“We noticed something similar during the 2008-2012 phase when recurve was dominating. Later compound started dominating. We have to find a way. Proper planning is needed.

“With less than three months left for the Asian Games, planning is the need of the hour and we must focus on team bonding and match practice.”