India targets stronger Asian Games archery showing after Hangzhou haul

India’s archery team entered the Asian Games campaign in Japan with a target of improving on the country’s nine-medal haul from Hangzhou. Competition was scheduled to begin at the Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Multipurpose Square on September 25. The team combines established performers with younger athletes and is led by recurve archer Dhiraj Bommadevara.

Bommadevara arrived after a landmark World Cup Final victory in Saltillo, where he became the first Indian male recurve archer to win the season-ending title. The 25-year-old had also won his first World Cup gold in Antalya and the 2025 Asian Archery Championships title. India’s campaign was taking place alongside a wider medal effort in Japan.

The source material reports that Suruchi Phogat and Kamaljeet ended India’s wait for a shooting gold by winning the 10-metre air-pistol mixed-team event at the Aichi General Shooting Range. The pair posted 484.6 and set a new Asian Games record in the event. Their result added to India’s early progress across several sports.

The material also refers to achievements by Indian athletes in athletics and wushu. Gulveer won silver, Baranica secured a pole-vault bronze and Manpreet also won a medal. Naorem Roshibina Devi won a silver medal in wushu after being included in the team shortly before the Games, earning a third consecutive Asian Games medal.

The archery competition therefore began against a backdrop of rising expectations. Bommadevara’s recent form provided the most prominent individual storyline, while India’s overall aim was to build on its previous Games performance rather than rely on a single event.