Antalya, June 15: Dheeraj Bommadevara from India delivered an outstanding performance at the Archery World Cup Stage 3 in Antalya, Turkey. After winning gold in the mixed team event alongside Kumkum Mohod, he clinched the individual recurve gold medal, achieving a remarkable golden double.
The 24-year-old Dheeraj showcased his skills in the men’s individual recurve final, defeating Olympic bronze medalist Lee Woo-seok from South Korea with a score of 7-3. This victory marked the most significant title of his career.
This win is Dheeraj’s first individual gold medal at the Archery World Cup and his fourth overall World Cup medal. Previously, he had secured three bronze medals. His triumph also ended a five-year drought for India in the men’s individual recurve category. He became the first Indian to win a World Cup gold in this event since Atanu Das in 2021. Jayant Talukdar remains the only other Indian to have won the individual recurve title at the World Cup.
Dheeraj’s path to gold was challenging. In the semifinals, he was trailing 3-1 against Germany’s Moritz Wieser but made a comeback to win 6-4, securing his place in the gold medal match. He delivered an exceptional performance in the final, outpacing one of the top recurve archers and Olympic medalist Lee Woo-seok to claim the top position on the podium.
Earlier in the day, Dheeraj also celebrated success with 17-year-old Kumkum Mohod, as they won the recurve mixed team gold medal. The third-seeded Indian duo defeated the top-seeded South Korean pair of Oh Yejin and Kim Je-deok 5-1 in the final.
Kim Je-deok was part of the South Korean mixed team that won gold at the Tokyo Olympics.
Dheeraj and Kumkum became only the third Indian mixed recurve pair to win a World Cup gold medal. The first pair to achieve this feat was Deepika Kumari and Atanu Das in 2021 in Paris, followed by Tarundeep Rai and Ridhi, who won gold in Antalya in 2022. This marks Kumkum’s second consecutive World Cup gold medal.
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