Bull's-eye: Anand Mahindra shares proud moment of Indian archers beating host China for World Cup gold. Watch

Industrialist Anand Mahindra praised India’s women’s recurve archery team on social media after the trio of Deepika Kumari, Ankita Bhakat and Kumkum Mohod clinched the gold medal at the Archery World Cup Stage II in Shanghai on Sunday. India defeated hosts China in the final after a dramatic shoot-off victory.

Mahindra shared a post on X following the win and described the triumph as a “Bull’s-Eye” after India ended a five-year wait for a women’s recurve team World Cup gold medal.

India edge China in dramatic final

India staged a comeback from a 2-4 deficit to defeat China 5-4 (28-26) in the shoot-off after the four-set regulation ended 4-4. The Indian trio secured the title in a closely fought summit clash in Shanghai.


The victory also helped India conclude the tournament with two medals after compound archer Sahil Jadhav won a bronze medal on Saturday.

Boost ahead of Asian Games

The gold medal win comes five months before the Asian Games in Japan and is being viewed as a significant confidence boost for India’s women recurve archers.

Former Olympian and recurve coach Rahul Banerjee said the win was important because India defeated China and South Korea, considered powerhouses in the sport.

Banerjee also praised the consistency shown by the Indian team during the tournament. According to him, the archers consistently recorded scores of 57 and 58, which he described as significant.

China’s team of Zhu Jingyi, Huang Yuwei and Yu Qi had entered the event in strong form after winning gold in Stage I at Puebla, Mexico.

Deepika equals national World Cup record

Deepika Kumari secured her 12th World Cup medal, equalling compound archer Jyothi Surekha Vennam for the highest number of World Cup titles by an Indian archer.

Deepika has also been part of all seven World Cup titles won by Indian women’s recurve teams. Shooting last in the order, she played a key role in calming the nerves of her younger teammates during crucial moments.

India won the opening set 54-53 before China levelled the contest by taking the second set 55-52. The hosts then moved ahead 4-2 after winning the third set 57-56. However, India recovered by clinching the fourth set 54-53 to force a shoot-off.

China registered scores of 8-9-9 in the shoot-off, leaving Deepika needing at least a nine with the final arrow. The four-time Olympian delivered under pressure to secure the title for India.

“I’m heading in a good direction,” Deepika said after the match. However, she added that she was still working on improving her performances further.

17-year old Kumkum impresses on debut

Seventeen-year-old Kumkum Mohod, competing in her first World Cup medal event, emerged as one of the standout performers of the tournament.

Kumkum credited her senior teammates for helping her stay composed during pressure situations. Ankita Bhakat also highlighted the team effort, saying the archers supported one another whenever mistakes occurred.

Meanwhile, recurve archer Simranjeet Kaur narrowly missed out on an individual medal after losing both her semifinal and bronze medal playoff matches.