Indian archer Ganesh wins Asian Games team gold and individual bronze

Andhra Pradesh archer Ganesh Mani Ratnam Thirumuru won two medals on his Asian Games debut, taking men’s compound team gold and individual bronze at the Aichi-Nagoya Games. Ganesh, 20, teamed up with Sahil Rajesh Jadhav and Kushal Dalal to beat China 238-237 in the team final on September 30. India trailed after China’s strong opening ends before completing a final-end comeback.

The following day, Ganesh defeated Vietnam’s Cong Duc Dang 149-144 in the individual bronze-medal match. He hit the 10-ring with 14 of his 15 arrows. He said his approach was to trust his shooting and concentrate on the process rather than introduce changes for competition.

“I don’t implement anything new or do anything different for the competition,” he said, describing his routine as the same one used in practice. Ganesh began in Naidupeta, near Nellore, where he initially took up karate around 2015. His first coach, Shivashankar, introduced him to archery the following year.

His father, Hari Prasad, supported his development, and Ganesh later joined a state-run sports scheme and moved to a school in Visakhapatnam that prioritised sport. He moved to Sonipat in 2025 to train under coach Kamal Kishore and is studying BCA Data Science at SRM Institute of Science and Technology. He said a pre-Games camp helped the Indian squad adjust to conditions including wind, climate, food and sleep, with support from a psychologist and physiologist.

Ganesh said the experience had increased his confidence ahead of the Asia Cups and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, where compound archery will make its Olympic debut. He described winning an Olympic medal as his ultimate goal.