Bangkok, March 27 Indian compound archers delivered a dominant performance, winning the mixed team gold and women's team silver, while also dominating the men's individual podium at the Asia Cup-World Ranking Tournament Stage 1 here on Friday.
India also secured two silver medals in the recurve section in the afternoon session, bringing their total to two gold, four silver, and four bronze, surpassing their medal haul from the previous edition.
However, India had a less successful performance in the recurve section, where none of the archers could win gold, and they returned empty-handed in the men's individual and mixed team events.
In 2025, India had a gold-silver finish in the men's recurve individual, while the mixed team won a silver.
The highlight of the day was the clean sweep in the men's compound individual section, where Uday Kamboj defeated Prathamesh Jawkar 145-144 in a thrilling all-Indian final to win his maiden international gold, while seasoned campaigner Rajat Chauhan secured a bronze.
It was Chauhan who secured the Indian clean sweep, using his experience to hit three perfect arrows in the final end to defeat local favourite Peerawat Rattanapongkiat 145-144 in a tense bronze playoff.
The 31-year-old former World Championships silver medallist had a two-point advantage after three ends.
Chauhan overturned the deficit in the fourth end, dropping just one point while Peerawat scored 27, shooting in the '8-ring'.
Locked 115-all heading into the final end, Chauhan struck three perfect 10s to win the match by a solitary point, earning India their fourth bronze medal.
This also marked a clean sweep by the country's archers in the event, as the final match was also an all-Indian affair.
Kamboj shocks Jawkar for maiden gold
= = = = = = = = =
In a battle between two 22-year-olds, Kamboj emerged victorious against the more decorated Prathamesh Jawkar, winning 145-144 to claim his maiden international gold.
The match saw momentum fluctuations, with former World Cup and Asian Games gold medallist Jawkar leading 59-57 after the second end.
Kamboj, however, bounced back to level the scores at 87-87 in the third end before capitalising on a slight lapse from his opponent in the fourth end to take a 116-115 lead.
He then held his nerve in the final end to secure a memorable win in his comeback tournament.
Eighteen-year-old Tejal Salve defeated Mariia Dimidiuk, a Russian archer competing under a neutral flag, 144-135 to win the bronze in the women's compound individual section.
Tejal dropped just six points across 15 arrows in a clinical performance to secure her second Asia Cup medal, having won gold in Stage 2 in Singapore earlier.
Mixed team gold for Chauhan-Chikitha
= = = = = = = = =
Earlier in the morning session, the top-seeded compound mixed team pair of Chikitha Taniparthi and Chauhan secured a 158-156 win over second-seeded Malaysia in a tense gold-medal clash.
In a contest defined by precision and composure, the difference was a narrow margin, with India dropping just two points across 16 arrows, while Malaysia dropped four.
The Indian duo started with four consecutive 10s and maintained their rhythm despite minor lapses in the middle phase. After three ends, they held a slender one-point lead at 118-117.
The Malaysian pair of Fatin Nurfatehah Mat Salleh and Mohd Juwaidi Mazuki briefly seized momentum in the third end, shooting a perfect 40 while India managed 39.
However, in the decisive final end, Chikitha and Chauhan showcased their experience under pressure, firing four successive 10s to close out the match.
Malaysia could only manage 39, handing India a two-point victory.
This also marked a significant turnaround after India had returned empty-handed in the mixed team event in the previous edition.
Later, the Indian women's compound team comprising Chikitha, Raj Kaur, and Tejal Salve settled for a silver after losing 227-229 to Kazakhstan's Viktoriya Lyan, Diana Yunussova, and Roxana Yunussova in the final.
Despite the loss, it was an improvement from their bronze-medal finish in the last edition.
India started strongly and led 115-113 at the halfway stage after 12 arrows. However, a below-par third end saw them shoot 54, while Kazakhstan produced a decisive 58 to overturn the deficit and take a 171-169 lead.
The fourth and final end was evenly matched and locked at 58-58 as Kazakhstan's third-end advantage proved decisive as India settled for a silver.
No gold in recurve: Ridhi, men's team bag silver
= = = = = = = = = = = = = =
India also secured two silver medals in the recurve section, with Ridhi Phor finishing runner-up in the women's individual event.
Ridhi lost 2-6 to Mongolia's 18-year-old Oyun-Erdene Baasandorj in the final, with the set scores reading 26-26, 24-25, 28-29, and 28-28.
The Indian men's recurve team of Devaang Gupta, Sukhchain Singh, and Juyel Sarkar, who entered the final as top seeds, also settled for a silver after a narrow defeat to Kazakhstan's Dastan Karimov, Ilfat Abdullin, and Dauletkeldi Zhangbyrbay.
The match ended 4-4 in regulation (52-56, 52-49, 56-50, 53-56), before Kazakhstan clinched the shoot-off 30-27 to win gold.