Arrows Off Target! India’s Archery Squad Stumbles in Antalya

Image Source: NDTV Sports

India's archery team had a poor outing at the Archery World Cup 2025 Stage 3 in Antalya with not a single medal to show. Though much was expected after a good show in Shanghai, the team failed on both recurve and compound fronts.

Recurve Archers Fail to Deliver
Four-time Olympian Deepika Kumari, who had won bronze in Shanghai, lost in the second round to South Korea's An San.

Simranjeet Kaur fought hard against An San in the quarterfinals, taking 5-3 lead at one point, but was defeated in a shoot-off.

Parth Salunkhe and Tarundeep Rai had early eliminations in the men's individual recurve event.

The recurve men's team of Dhiraj Bommadevara, Atanu Das, and Parth Salunkhe lost 5-1 to France in the bronze medal match.

Compound Archery Struggles
Asian Games gold medalist Jyothi Surekha Vennam went down in the second round to Estonia's Meeri-Marita Paas.

Madhura Dhamangaonkar, the Shanghai gold medalist, was knocked out in the quarterfinals by Mexico's Mariana Bernal.

Reigning world champion Aditi Swami was beaten by Mexico's Andrea Becerra at the same stage.

Misgivings Over Team Performance
Indian archers did not qualify for the medal rounds in individual and team events.

The compound men's team, which was rated among the top teams, exited in the first round.

Experts attribute the poor performance to flaws in team selection, preparation, and mental toughness.

India's archery program could do with a strategic revamp ahead of the approaching Asian Games in order to recapture its competitive stand.

Sources: MSN, The Hindu, NDTV.