India’s archers had a rollercoaster ride at the World Archery Championships in Gwangju, South Korea. The men’s compound team, fresh off a historic gold medal, saw their stars Rishabh Yadav, Aman Saini, and Prathamesh Fuge all crash out in the individual quarterfinals. This heartbreaking turn dashed dreams of a perfect sweep in the compound archery events.
The trio entered the individual draw with massive expectations. As defending champions from the team event, they split into different quarters, giving India a real chance to shine in the men’s compound archery competition. But turning that team magic into solo success proved tough.
Newcomer Prathamesh Fuge stole the show early on. In his World Archery Championships debut, the 19th-seeded Indian pulled off the upset of the tournament by beating world number one Mike Schloesser 150-150 in the pre-quarterfinals, forcing a shoot-off that Fuge won with calm precision. The young archer, who stunned the 2013 world champion, carried that momentum into the quarterfinals against Denmark’s Mathias Fullerton, the world No. 2.
Fuge led 119-118 after four ends, but things got tense in the final end. He dropped a point right at the start, tying the score at 148-148. In the nail-biting shoot-off, Fullerton nailed a perfect 10 while Fuge scored a 9, ending India’s underdog story.
Top seed Rishabh Yadav, riding high from the team gold and a mixed-team silver, faced France’s Nicolas Girard. Yadav held a slim one-point lead heading into the last end but lost two crucial points, falling 145-146. Girard went on to claim the world champion title in men’s compound archery.
Aman Saini put up a strong fight too, but American Curtis Broadnax edged him out 144-147. With that loss, India’s hopes for individual medals in the men’s compound events faded completely.
Despite the quarterfinal exits, India’s performance in compound archery at the World Archery Championships highlights their growing strength on the global stage. Fans are already buzzing about what’s next for these talented archers.
