Veteran archer Deepika Kumari led the Indian women's team to a dramatic gold medal win over China at the Archery World Cup Stage 2 in Shanghai on Sunday. The Indian team of Deepika, Ankita Bhakat and teenager Kumkum Mohod defeated the Chinese side 5-4 (28-26) in the women's recurve event in the shoot-off after the regulation four-set game ended well poised at 4-4.
India were trailing 2-4 despite bagging the first set. The Chinese team, featuring inexperienced 21-year-olds in Zhu Jingyi, Huang Yuwei and teenager Yu Qi, could not close out the contest in the fourth set, giving India a sneak through the door.
India take win in shootoff
The Indian side then showed nerves of steel to clinch the gold medal in the shootoff. 17-year-old Kumkum shot a 10 in the opening arrow before Ankita followed it up with a nine and Deepika with another nine. The Chinese failed to match in the high-pressure situation, leading India to win their second medal at the Worlds.
The triumph was a pretty special one as the Indian team had shocked 10-time Olympic champions South Korea in the semifinals on the way to securing their first women’s team World Cup gold since 2021. Deepika Kumari, who was also part of India’s title-winning squads in Guatemala City and Paris in 2021, has now claimed seven World Cup team gold medals since 2010.
The medal also marked the Indian women’s recurve team’s first World Cup podium finish in three years. Their previous medal came at Stage 4 in Paris in 2023, where Ankita Bhakat was part of the gold medal-winning side.
India finish with two medals, Simranjeet misses out
India ended the campaign with two medals. Before the trioka's gold, Sahil Jadhav clinched a bronze medal in the men's individual compound event yesterday. Simranjeet Kaur, however, suffered a straight-sets defeat to World No. 1 and eventual champion Kang Chae-young in the semifinals and then lost her bronze medal playoff to another South Korean archer, Jang Min-hee.
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