Indian pair edge South Korea in a shoot-off after 157-157 tie, secure India’s eighth gold at Asian Games and an LA 2028 Olympic quota place
Okazaki, Sept 2026 : India continued its impressive run in compound archery at the Asian Games as Chikitha Taniparthi and Sahil Jadhav held their nerve in a dramatic finish to defeat South Korea and win the compound mixed team gold medal on Wednesday.
The Indian pair prevailed over South Korea’s Park Jungyoon and Choi Yonghee in a shoot-off after the final ended 157-157. The victory also secured India a quota place for the compound mixed team event at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, where the discipline is set to make its Olympic debut.
The gold was Chikitha’s second at the Aichi-Nagoya Games after she earlier featured in India’s women’s compound team triumph. Sahil, meanwhile, secured his first Asian Games gold.
The victory took India’s gold medal tally to eight, while its overall medal count stood at 54, comprising eight gold, 21 silver and 25 bronze medals.
India made a confident start in the final, with both Chikitha and Sahil finding the 10-ring with their opening shots. South Korea matched the effort, leaving the teams level at 20-20 after the opening rotation.
India gained its first advantage when Park dropped a nine. Chikitha and Sahil responded with another pair of 10s to take India to a 40-39 lead at the end of the first end.
The Indian pair maintained their accuracy in the second end and gradually extended the advantage. Both archers continued to produce perfect scores and remained unbeaten through their opening four shots, allowing India to reach the halfway stage with an 80-78 lead.
South Korea fought back in the third end and remained within striking distance. Chikitha and Sahil again responded with 10s to take India to 100-98.
Pressure began to mount towards the end of the third end when both Indians missed the 10-ring. South Korea capitalised on the opportunity to narrow the gap, leaving India ahead by just one point at 118-117 with four arrows remaining for each team.
The final end produced another dramatic turn. Park and Choi opened with 10s, putting pressure on the Indian pair. Chikitha responded with a 10, and Sahil matched her effort, keeping India one point ahead with only two arrows remaining.
South Korea then delivered a perfect 20 from its final two arrows to reach 157. India needed 20 from its final pair to force a shoot-off and avoid defeat.
Chikitha’s nine appeared to hand South Korea the advantage, but Sahil produced a crucial 10 with the final arrow to level the scores at 157-157 and force the deciding shoot-off.
Under the shoot-off format, each archer had one arrow. Chikitha struck a 10 for India, while Park matched the score. Sahil then found another 10, putting the pressure on Choi to keep South Korea in contention.
Choi could only manage a nine, giving India the decisive advantage and sealing another compound archery gold.
The triumph marked Chikitha’s second gold medal of the Games and Sahil’s first. It also extended India’s strong record in compound archery at the Asian Games.
At the Hangzhou Asian Games, India won all four compound archery gold medals on offer, including the mixed team title claimed by Jyothi Surekha Vennam and Ojas Pravin Deotale.
The Indian compound archers subsequently completed a sweep of all five gold medals in the discipline at Hangzhou 2023. The latest victory in Okazaki further underlined India’s strong presence in compound archery and added another milestone with the qualification quota for the sport’s Olympic debut in Los Angeles in 2028.
