Anjana Sasi | Reporting from Nagoya, Japan
Nagoya: For several days, India’s Asian Games campaign had been a story of near misses, silver medals and hard-earned bronze. The medals kept coming, but the golds seemed to arrive too slowly. Wednesday changed the mood. India struck gold four times in a single day, with three titles coming from compound archery and another from shooting, lifting the country to seventh place in the medal table with 59 medals — 10 gold, 21 silver and 28 bronze. It was the kind of day that gave the Indian camp a much-needed lift.
The biggest celebration came at the archery venue, where India completed a clean sweep of all three compound team golds on offer. Jyothi Surekha Vennam, Chikitha Taniparthi and Prithika Pradeep began the run by beating China 238-234 in the women’s team final. Their score also equalled the world record. Chikitha was soon back on the shooting line, this time partnering Sahil Jadhav in the mixed team final. India had looked in control for much of the contest against South Korea before the scores were tied at 157-157, forcing a shoot-off. Chikitha and Sahil responded with two perfect 10s to secure gold. The victory carried significance beyond Nagoya.
It secured India’s first quota place for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, where compound archery will make its Olympic debut through the mixed team event. Sahil then returned with Kushal Dalal and Ganesh Mani Ratnam for the men’s team final. India edged China 238-237 to complete the sweep and give compound archery three gold medals in a single day. For Chikitha and Sahil, it was an extraordinary double. Two gold medals each on the same day.
National compound coach Dave Cousins attributed the success to the unity within the squad and the preparation that has gone into building the programme. The athletes, he said, understand their individual responsibilities while also knowing how to support and motivate one another. The Olympic qualification, meanwhile, represents another step in India’s long-term attempt to establish itself in compound archery at the highest level. Shooting added another gold through Neeru Dhanda, who is enjoying a remarkable Games. A day after winning the individual women’s trap title, Neeru returned to the range with Kynan Chenai and won the mixed team trap gold.
The Indian pair finished with 34 points, ahead of Qatar on 32 and China on 23, while also setting a new Asian Games record. The victory gave India its first-ever Asian Games gold in the mixed trap team event. For Neeru, it was her second gold in two days and her third medal of the Games after she had also helped India win silver in the women’s trap team event. Boxing also continued to add promise to India’s final-week medal prospects, with multiple Indian boxers already assured of medals after reaching the semifinals and some moving into the gold-medal bouts scheduled for October 2. The precise finalists should be updated once the full semifinal programme is complete.
Also Read: When the Gold Finally Came: India Finds Its Rhythm in Nagoya
The surge came just a day after India’s women’s 4x400m relay team delivered the country’s first athletics gold of the Games. For Vithya Ramraj, that victory completed an extraordinary personal campaign that had already included a national-record bronze in the 400m hurdles and silver in the mixed relay. India’s athletics campaign has otherwise been rich in medals, with Gulveer Singh winning three individual medals across the 10,000m, 1500m and 5000m. The overall picture, therefore, is beginning to look much brighter.
There have certainly been disappointments in Nagoya. Some of India’s established medal hopes have fallen short, while several teams and individuals have exited earlier than expected. But alongside those setbacks have come national records, breakthrough performances and athletes producing their best when the pressure was highest and there is still time. The Games run until October 4, with India still in contention in several disciplines, including boxing, archery, squash, hockey, wrestling and other events. For a country that spent several days wondering when the next gold would come, Wednesday provided a very different answer. Four of them came in one day. The gold rush may have taken its time. But India has finally found its way back to the top step.
