India’s women’s recurve archery team staged a sensational comeback to win gold at the Archery World Cup Stage 2 in Shanghai on Sunday. The trio of Deepika Kumari, Ankita Bhakta And 17-year-old Kumkum Mohd defeated hosts China 5-4 in a tense shoot-off after the match was tied 4-4 in four sets.The win was special for India as the team had earlier defeated mighty South Korea – the 10-time Olympic champions – in the semi-finals. It was also India’s first women’s recurve team World Cup gold since 2021 and their first medal in the category in three years.
India’s most experienced archer Deepika played a key role throughout the competition. Traveling without a full-time national coach, the senior Archer constantly guided and encouraged his younger teammates during crucial moments.India started strong and won the opening set 54-53, with Deepika scoring 10 in a row to give the team confidence. But China quickly countered. In the second set, India lost as Kumkum scored only 8 and Deepika surprisingly scored 7 in the final arrow as China leveled the match at 2-2.The hosts then led 4-2 in the third set after China upgraded the last arrow from 8 to 9.India looked close to defeat in the fourth set even though Deepika rediscovered form with two perfect 10s. China needed just one final 9 to clinch the title in front of their home crowd.But the young Chinese archer, UQ, shot 8 under pressure to give India a lifeline and force a shoot-off.India held their nerve brilliantly in the deciding match. Ankita opened with 9, Kumkum with a brilliant 10, and Deepika calmly scored 9 when only 8 was needed to clinch the gold medal.
