Archery World Cup: Dhiraj Bommadevara scripts history with gold medal
What's the story
Indian archer Dhiraj Bommadevara etched his name in history by winning the men's individual title at the 2026 Archery World Cup Final. The event was held in Saltillo, Mexico, on Sunday. Bommadevara defeated Japan's Nakanishi Junya 6-5 in a nail-biting gold medal match that went to a shoot-off. This victory makes him the first Indian male recurve archer to win an individual title at this prestigious event.
Milestone achievement
End of 16-year wait for Indian male recurve archer
Bommadevara's win also ended a 16-year wait for an Indian recurve archer to win a medal at the World Cup Final.
The last Indian male recurve archer to do so was Jayanta Talukdar, who had won bronze in Edinburgh in 2010.
Dola Banerjee is the only other Indian to have won individual World Cup Final gold, having claimed it in the women's category back in 2007.
Path to victory
Bommadevara's impressive journey to gold
Bommadevara started his campaign by defeating Turkey's Berkim Tumer in the quarter-finals. He won without dropping a set, making a strong statement with a 7-1 victory.
In the semi-finals, he faced France's Rio Olympics silver medallist Jean-Charles Valladont and controlled the contest well, winning 7-1.
This was a major turnaround from his first World Cup Final appearance in Hermosillo in 2023, where he had reached the semi-finals before losing the bronze-medal playoff.
Showdown
Gold medal match goes deep
The gold-medal clash against Nakanishi was tense. The Japanese archer took a 3-1 lead after dropping only three points from his first six arrows.
However, Bommadevara shot 29 in the third set to level the contest at 3-3.
Nakanishi then produced a perfect three-arrow fourth set to move ahead 5-3 and needed only a tied fifth set to become champion.
Bommadevara held his nerve and dropped only two points in this decisive set, forcing a shoot-off at 5-5.
In the shoot-off, Bommadevara shot a perfect 10 while Nakanishi could only manage a 9.
Information
Bommadevara finally strikes gold
This victory comes after Bommadevara returned empty-handed from the 2023 and 2024 editions. He had qualified for this year's final by winning the men's individual recurve title at Antalya's third World Cup stage, where he also won mixed team gold with Kumkum Mohod.