Dhiraj Bommadevara becomes first Indian man to win archery World Cup gold in 16 years

Indian recurve archer Dhiraj Bommadevara has created history by winning gold in the final of the archery World Cup. Dhiraj has become the first Indian male archer to achieve this feat. Top seed Dhiraj beat Japan's Junya Nakanishi in a thrilling shoot-off. The 25 year old, ranked 10th in the world, delivered this superb performance after the disappointments of the 2023 and 2024 seasons.

In the final, Dhiraj defeated Nakanishi, ranked 20th in the world, 6-5 (28-28, 28-29, 29-28, 28-30, 28-27). After five sets the score was tied 5-5, following which Dhiraj won the shoot-off 10-9. Dhiraj will also compete at the Asian Games this month. He was also part of the team that won silver in 2022.

Industrialist Anand Mahindra was among those won over by Dhiraj's historic win and congratulated him in a post on social media. Mahindra wrote that when an army man needed just one arrow to make history, he hit a perfect 10. Dhiraj Bommadevara became the first Indian man to win the recurve title in the archery World Cup final. But perhaps there is an even bigger story behind it.

Mahindra further wrote that at the last Asian Championship, India had overtaken Korea with six gold medals. This year, Indian archers have repeatedly beaten traditionally strong teams like Korea and China at the World Cup. He asked whether India was standing at the threshold of a golden era in Indian archery, and answered his own question by saying it does appear that way.

With this win, Dhiraj has become the first Indian male recurve archer to win gold at a World Cup final. He has also ended a 16 year wait for this prestigious title in Indian men's recurve archery. Before him, Jayanta Talukdar, who won bronze in Edinburgh in 2010, was the last Indian male recurve archer to win a medal.

Apart from Dhiraj, Dola Banerjee is the only other Indian archer to have won gold at a World Cup final, having won the women's individual title in Dubai in 2007. Deepika Kumari holds the record for the most medals won by India at World Cup finals. Deepika has reached the final eight times, winning five silver medals and one bronze.