Aichi-Nagoya [Japan], October 2 (ANI): India secured a silver medal in the men's recurve team event at the Asian Games 2026 after losing 1-5 to South Korea in the final here on Friday, adding another medal to a memorable day for the country's archers.
Dhiraj Bommadevara, Yashdeep Sanjay Bhoge and Neeraj Chauhan were unable to replicate the women's team's earlier upset over South Korea, as the Koreans' consistency under pressure proved decisive, according to ESPN.
The opening set was closely contested, with both teams finishing on 56 after India briefly held a two-point advantage following the first rotation. Neeraj, Yashdeep and Dhiraj then combined for a 10, 8 and 9 in their second rotation to level the set.
South Korea took control in the second set, producing a perfect 30 in their opening rotation. India could manage only 25 in response, with Neeraj, Yashdeep and Dhiraj shooting 9, 8 and 8 respectively.
The Koreans finished the set with 57 while India ended on 50, giving South Korea a 3-1 lead.
India needed to win the third set to stay alive, but South Korea maintained their composure. The teams were level at 28-28 after the opening rotation, before Neeraj shot a 7 in India's second rotation. Yashdeep followed with a 9 and Dhiraj with a 10, taking India to 54.
South Korea required 27 points to win the match and secured victory with scores of 10, 9 and 9 to finish on 56 and claim the gold medal.
The silver continued India's strong run in recurve archery at the Aichi-Nagoya Games. Earlier in the day, Kumkum Anil Mohod, Ankita Bhakat and Kirti Sharma defeated South Korea 5-3 in the women's team final to win India's first-ever medal in the women's recurve team event at the Asian Games.
Kumkum and Dhiraj had also won silver in the mixed recurve team event after India lost 3-5 to China in the final.
India had entered the men's recurve team final after defeating Iran 6-0 in the semifinal. Neeraj, Yashdeep and Dhiraj won all three sets against Iran, setting up the gold medal clash with South Korea.
The men's team silver was India's 71st medal at the Aichi-Nagoya Games, taking the country's tally to 12 gold, 25 silver and 34 bronze medals. India were sixth in the medal standings at the time of writing.
India's other medal-winning performances on Friday included Lovlina Borgohain's gold in the women's 75kg boxing event and Nethra Kumanan's bronze in the women's dinghy sailing event.
Wrestler Sujeet Kalkal also advanced to the men's freestyle 65kg gold medal bout after stunning reigning Olympic champion and home favourite Kotaro Kiyooka of Japan in the semifinal. (ANI)
Asian Games: India men's recurve team secures silver after losing final to South Korea
