India’s women’s recurve archery team is at the center stage once again at the 2026 World Cup Stage 2 Win in Shanghai, providing fans with jaw-dropping moments as they win Gold in a thrilling final match against hosts China. Indian trio Deepika Kumari, Ankita Bhakat, and teenager Kumkum Mohod showcased their impressive skills and sportsmanship, winning a tightly contested closing round of the final match, with a score of 5-4 after a shoot-off.
This win boosts the spirits of the Indian archery team, especially after unexpectedly eliminating archery heavyweight South Korea in the semifinals. South Korea is synonymous with extremely high levels of archery, especially when it comes to the Olympics, so India’s win makes this stunning archery scene even more exciting.
India Wins First Women’s Recurve Team Gold Since 2021
This win further cements the Indian archery team as the top contender in the international scene. This was India’s first Women’s recurve team Gold at the Archery World Cup since 2021, and it broke a three-year-long dry streak in podium finishes also in this category. The team arrived at the finals with extremely high levels of confidence and consistency.
Deepika Kumari Leads From the Front
Deepika Kumari is leading the veterans against Europe with Olympians Ankita Bhakt and Kumkum Mohod. Deepika Kumari’s experience leads her team to success once again in European archery. Deepika Kumari’s sportsmanship and resilience in the finals played an enormous role in discouraging the coaching staff, as Deepika Mam’s teammates led the team out of Control while in the packet.
India took the first set 54-53. Early on, Indian Neutralised shot two perfect 10s one after the other. That gave the team control of the momentum and more confidence in facing the home team. The second set was even more troubling, and Kumkum shot 8. Deepika, nevertheless, finished the set much worse, giving China the edge and ultimately resulting in a level match 4-4.
China quickly took the lead 4-2 after another even review. With the home crowd rocking, it was assumed that the majority of the hosts, China, had completely won the championship. What looked to be the final set with more trouble heading in, China held more of the power and a perfect 10 lead to a win. It was Deepika to once again rose to the occasion for India and delivered two perfect 10s again as a team for a gold. Best of all was the young archer Yu Qi, and he came short in the most high-pressure moment.
The Gold Medal Win in Shanghai
Winning gold at the Shanghai tournaments will be a significant confidence boost for the Indian Archery team for the upcoming international tournaments. The performance also showcased the potential of young archers, particularly 17-year-old Kumkum Mohod, who showed great audacity and skill while competing in multiple matches in the tournaments and firing.
Most Indian archery followers were confident in the Indian archery team’s performance. Competing in a difficult and high-pressure environment gave Indian archers the opportunity to prove that they can contend with the rest of the world’s best teams.