New Delhi: Indian recurve archer Dhiraj Bommadevara produced the biggest individual performance of his career by winning the men’s title at the Archery World Cup Final 2026 in Saltillo, Mexico, on Sunday.
The 25-year-old defeated Japan’s Nakanishi Junya 6-5 in a closely fought gold medal match that was decided by a shoot-off. Bommadevara held his nerve when it mattered most, shooting a 10 against Nakanishi’s nine to secure the title, according to olympics.com.
The victory made Bommadevara the first Indian male recurve archer to win an individual title at the Archery World Cup Final. He is also only the second Indian archer overall to achieve the feat, after Dola Banerjee won the women’s recurve title in Dubai in 2007.
Bommadevara was India’s sole representative at the season-ending World Cup Final, which featured eight archers each in the men’s and women’s recurve and compound events.
His campaign in Saltillo began with a commanding quarter-final victory over Olympic medallist Berkim Tümer of Turkiye. The second-seeded Indian won 7-1, conceding just one set point.
He produced another dominant performance in the semi-finals, defeating France’s two-time Olympic silver medallist Jean-Charles Valladont 7-1 to reach the gold medal match.
The final against fourth-seeded Nakanishi was a much tighter contest, with neither archer able to establish a decisive advantage through the five sets.
For Bommadevara, the Saltillo victory also marked a breakthrough after he returned without a medal from his previous appearances at the World Cup Final in 2023 and 2024.
He qualified for this year’s Final after winning the men’s individual recurve title at the third World Cup stage in Antalya. He also claimed mixed team gold at the event alongside Kumkum Mohod.
India won seven medals across the four Archery World Cup stages in Puebla, Shanghai, Antalya and Madrid this season, including four gold medals. The 25-year-old Indian archer was the country’s only individual gold medallist, following his victory in Antalya.
India’s only medal at last year’s World Cup Final in Shanghai came through Jyothi Surekha Vennam, who won silver in the women’s compound event.
