India stun China for recurve team gold in Shanghai World Cup

Indian women’s recurve team of Deepika Kumari, Ankita Bhakat and Kumkum Mohod defeated hosts China in a dramatic shoot-off to clinch the gold medal at the Archery World Cup Stage 2 on Sunday.

In a tense final marked by ups and downs, India took the opening set before China fought back to level the contest and force a shoot-off after the four-set regulation ended in a tie.

Holding their nerves in the decider, the Indian trio prevailed 5-4 (28-26), with veteran Deepika delivering a crucial 9 under pressure in the final shoot-off arrow to seal India’s first World Cup gold since 2021. Earlier, India had stunned record 10-time Olympic champions South Korea in the semifinals.

It was India’s second medal of the tournament after compound archer Pravin Jadhav opened the account with a bronze medal in the individual section on Saturday.

India also remains in contention for another podium finish with recurve archer Simranjeet Kaur set to compete in the semifinals later in the day, staying one win away from her maiden individual World Cup medal.