Dhiraj, Kumkum stun Olympic champions South Korea to win Archery World Cup gold

Antalya, June 14 (IANS) Indian recurve archers continued their resurgence on the world stage as Olympian Dhiraj Bommadevara and teenage sensation Kumkum Mohod delivered a fearless display, upsetting Olympic champions South Korea and clinching the recurve mixed team gold medal at the Archery World Cup Stage 3 in Antalya on Sunday.

The Indian duo beat Kim Je-deok and Oh Ye-jin 5-1 (37-36, 37-36, 39-39) in a thrilling final, showing impressive composure and determination against one of the most successful teams in world archery.

For Dhiraj, 24, and 17-year-old Kumkum, there was no sign of intimidation against the Korean team, which included Kim, an Olympic gold medallist from Tokyo, alongside An San and a member of South Korea’s gold-winning men’s team for the Paris Olympics.

Dhiraj and Kumkum, who made her World Cup debut this season, kept their composure throughout the match, matching the Koreans arrow for arrow before delivering crucial shots under pressure. Dhiraj, India’s highest-ranked recurve archer at world No. 16, finished the match with a perfect 10 on his last arrow.

Overall, each archer scored three 10s. Kumkum recorded three 9s, while Dhiraj scored two 9s and one 8, highlighting the teamwork that led India to gold. This was the first World Cup mixed team gold medal for both archers.

Dhiraj had previously won mixed team bronze medals with Ankita Bhakat in 2024 and with Bhajan Kaur in 2025, finally completing his collection with this long-awaited gold. Meanwhile, Kumkum secured her second consecutive World Cup gold, having been part of India’s women’s recurve team that won in Shanghai last month, where she shot the final arrow in a shoot-off against China.

At that Shanghai World Cup, the women’s team of Deepika Kumari, Kumkum, and Ankita Bhakat surprised the record 10-time Olympic champions South Korea in the semifinals on their way to gold.

The Indians applied early pressure in the final after Kim surprised everyone with a seven, and Oh followed with a nine, leaving Korea with only 16 from their first two arrows. Kumkum responded with a solid nine, and Dhiraj shot an eight, giving India a one-point lead midway through the opening set.

The Koreans bounced back with a 10 from Kim and a nine from Oh, finishing on 35. Kumkum shot a nine, and Dhiraj a 10, for a provisional 36. A subsequent review upgraded Kumkum’s score from nine to 10, while Kim’s first arrow dropped to eight, giving India the set 37-36 and a 2-0 lead.

Korea seemed shaken and opened the second set with two nines. India matched them with two nines each, leaving the score tied at 18 going into the final arrows. Kim scored another nine, and Oh added one for a total of 36.

Kumkum then hit a crucial nine, leaving Dhiraj needing a perfect 10 to win the set. The Army archer delivered, scoring a maximum to secure another 37-36 win and extend India’s lead to 4-0.

Needing only a single shot to secure gold, the inexperienced Indian team faced tough opposition from the Koreans in the third set. Kim and Oh started strong with two 10s, while Kumkum scored a 10 and Dhiraj a 9, putting India one point behind at the mid-set break.

Kim hit another 10, but Oh scored a point, with Korea ending at 39. India had 29 after their first two arrows and needed flawless shots in their last two attempts. Kumkum responded with a 10 under pressure, and Dhiraj’s initially assessed 9 was reviewed and upgraded to a 10.

This resulted in a tie at 39-39 and secured the match with a score of 5-1.

–IANS

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