India's Compound Archers Complete Asian Games Team Sweep as Mixed Pair Seals LA 2028 Quota

India's compound archers finished Wednesday with a clean sweep of the Asian Games team events in Aichi-Nagoya, winning the mixed team and men's team titles after the women's trio had opened the day with a world record-equalling gold. The mixed team win carried an extra prize: a quota place for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, where compound archery will make its debut.

The standout performer was Sahil Jadhav, who collected two gold medals in a single day.

A shoot-off for the Olympic ticket

The mixed team final against South Korea's Park Jungyoon and Choi Eun Gyu was the tightest match of the day. Chikitha Taniparthi and Sahil started well, leading 40-39 after the first end and pushing the margin to two points after the second. A nine from Chikitha trimmed India's lead to 118-117 after three ends.

South Korea then shot a perfect final end, which meant India needed two 10s from their last two arrows to force a tie. Chikitha scored a nine, but Sahil found the centre, levelling the match at 157-157 and sending it to a shoot-off. In the decider, both Indians hit 10s while Choi could manage only a nine, giving India a 158-157 win.

The pair had reached the final by edging Thailand 156-155 in the semi-final. Their victory made India the first nation to secure a spot in the compound mixed team event for LA 2028. For Chikitha, making her Asian Games debut, it was a second gold of the day. She said afterwards she had barely had time to reset between the women's final and the mixed final.

Men come from behind against China

The men's final was a different kind of test. Sahil, Kushal Dalal and Ganesh Mani Ratnam Thirumuru faced a Chinese trio of Jiahao Liao, Jinyi Liu and Jingyu Shi who opened with a string of perfect 10s. India trailed by a point after the first end, by two at 60-58 after the second and by two again at the halfway stage, 120-118.

India's first perfect end cut the deficit to 149-148, and the gap stayed at one point through 179-178 and 208-207 as both teams kept pace. India then shot a perfect final end of six 10s, while China dropped two points, including an arrow confirmed as an eight after a review. That swing turned a one-point deficit into a 238-237 win.

Sahil finished the match without dropping a single point, hitting a 10 with every arrow. The trio had reached the final with a comfortable 236-229 win over South Korea.

A strong defence of Hangzhou's legacy

India won five archery golds at the previous Asian Games in Hangzhou, including the compound mixed team event, and this sweep confirms that compound archery remains one of the country's most dependable sources of medals. Wednesday's performance also offers a first look at a possible Olympic line-up: with the discipline entering the Games in Los Angeles, the mixed pairing of Chikitha and Sahil has given India an early head start.

According to an ANI tally, the three golds lifted India's gold count at these Games into double figures.

This is an original summary based on public reporting. See our editorial policy for how we source, write, and correct our stories.