Shanghai, China - India's compound men's archery team narrowly missed a podium finish at the Archery World Cup Stage 2 in Shanghai, losing a bronze medal match to China in a dramatic shoot-off. The teams' performance, marked by struggles in critical moments, saw them return empty-handed from the event.
The compound men's team, after tying with China at 234-234, was ultimately bested in the subsequent shoot-off. This follows a trend of near misses and mixed results for India's compound archers across various recent competitions.
Meanwhile, the Indian compound women's team faced a quarterfinal exit. This marked a significant disappointment, particularly as they had secured a gold medal at the season-opening World Cup in Mexico just last month. The mixed team pair of Ojas Deotale and Aditi Swami now represents India's remaining hope in the team events at the Shanghai World Cup.
Read More: Bryson DeChambeau plans YouTube move if LIV Golf ends
A Pattern of Close Calls and Upsets
Recent events highlight a recurring theme for Indian compound archery. At the 'Archery Worlds 2025' in Gwangju, the men's team secured a medal finish, described as their first-ever in the men's team event, while the defending champion women's team was eliminated early. In contrast, at the 'World Games 2025', the men's and mixed compound events saw disappointing exits for the Indian contingent, with Rishabh Yadav's individual bronze medal being the sole bright spot. Yadav defeated teammate Abhishek Verma in an all-Indian bronze medal match at the World Games.
Further back, in July 2025, the Indian men's compound team achieved their best-ever finish at the 'World University Games 2025', securing a silver medal after a narrow 231-232 loss to Turkey in the gold medal match. This was an improvement on a previous bronze medal at the same event. In April 2025, the Indian men's compound team secured a bronze medal at the 'Archery World Cup Florida', decisively beating Denmark 230-223. However, logistical issues, including visa clearances, impacted the participation of the women's team and recurve archers at this event.
Read More: Indian Archers Win Bronze Medal at Shanghai Archery World Cup 2025
Para Archery Shines Amidst Team Setbacks
While the main compound teams grapple with podium misses, individual achievements, particularly in para-archery, have brought significant accolades. Sheetal Devi has emerged as a prominent figure, making history by becoming the first female armless archer to win a World Championship gold medal at the 'World Archery Para Championships 2025' in September 2025. She also secured a silver in the women's team event and a bronze in the mixed team event. Her performances have drawn attention to inclusivity in Indian sports and the development of infrastructure for differently-abled athletes.
Separately, at the 'Paris Paralympic Games 2024', archer Rakesh Kumar narrowly missed a bronze medal in the men's compound event, losing by a single point in a crucial match. Kumar had previously won gold medals in individual and mixed team events at the Asian Para Championships.
Read More: NBA Playoffs June 5: 8 Teams Left, Some Star Players Injured
