Dhiraj Bommadevara Wins Historic Men's Recurve Gold at Archery World Cup Final 2026
Indian recurve archer Dhiraj Bommadevara achieved a landmark milestone in Indian sports by winning the men's individual title at the season-ending Archery World Cup Final 2026 in Saltillo, Mexico, on September 13. The 25-year-old Subedar in the Indian Army became the first Indian male recurve archer—and only the second Indian overall after Dola Banerjee in 2007—to claim an individual crown at the Archery World Cup Final.
Dhiraj, who entered the eight-man tournament as the second seed, mounted an impressive campaign in Mexico. He began his tournament with a commanding 7-1 victory over Olympic medallist Berkim Tümer of Türkiye in the quarter-finals, followed by another dominant 7-1 win against France's two-time Olympic silver medallist Jean-Charles Valladont in the semi-finals.
The gold medal match against Japan's fourth-seeded Junya Nakanishi turned out to be a high-voltage contest. After sharing the opening set 28-28, Nakanishi took the second set before Dhiraj fought back to win the third. Nakanishi regained the lead in the fourth set, leaving Dhiraj needing a win in the fifth set to stay alive. The Indian archer held his nerve to clinch the fifth set 28-27, drawing the match level at 5-5. In the decisive shoot-off, Dhiraj delivered a perfect 10-X shot against Nakanishi's 9 to seal the historic victory. This victory provides a major morale boost for Indian archery ahead of upcoming international competitions, including the 2026 Asian Games.
