Indian men’s recurve archers fail to reach medal stage at Worlds

Indian men’s recurve archers fail to reach medal stage at Worlds

Indian men’s recurve archers endured a disappointing outing at the World Championships on Wednesday, with all three bowing out in the individual rounds.

Debutant Rahul was the most impressive of the trio, advancing to the third round (last 32) before losing 5-6 (8-10) in a shoot-off against Aleksandre Machavariani of Georgia. The 21-year-old had held a commanding 5-3 lead but faltered in the final two sets.

After drawing the opening set 28-all, Rahul shot a perfect 30 in the second and edged the third 28-27 to move 5-1 ahead. Needing only a draw in the fourth, he stumbled with an 8, while Machavariani responded with three 10s to stay alive. The Georgian then claimed the fifth set 28-27 to force a shoot-off, where Rahul managed only an 8 against his rival’s perfect 10.

Olympian Dhiraj Bommadevara, the most experienced of the group, faced a tough draw against former Olympic champion Mete Gazoz in the opening round. The top-ranked Indian lost 2-6 after drawing the first set 29-all. Gazoz edged the second 29-28 with two 10s, extended his lead to 5-2 with another 29-28 in the third, and then closed out the contest despite Dhiraj drawing the fourth 29-all.

Neeraj Chauhan, meanwhile, was comprehensively beaten 0-6 by Uzbekistan’s Bobrajabov Bekzod, going down in straight sets 27-29, 27-28, 26-29.

Published on Sep 10, 2025