Andhra’s Dhiraj Bommadevara creates history with Archery World Cup Gold

The 25-year-old recurve archer achieved the feat in Saltillo, Mexico, defeating Japan’s Nakanishi Junya in a dramatic final that was decided by a shoot-off.

The contest went down to the wire. After five sets, the two archers were locked at 5-5, forcing a shoot-off. With the title at stake, Bommadevara delivered a perfect 10, while Nakanishi managed a 9, securing the Indian’s victory.

Bommadevara had earlier produced dominant performances on his route to the final, defeating Türkiye’s Olympic medallist Berkim Tümer 7-1 in the quarter-finals and France’s two-time Olympic silver medallist Jean-Charles Valladont 7-1 in the semi-finals.

His victory also made him only the second Indian archer overall to win an individual title at the season-ending World Cup Final. Dola Banerjee had won the women’s recurve title in 2007 in Dubai.

The achievement has particular significance for Andhra Pradesh, with Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan highlighting Bommadevara’s roots in Vijayawada while congratulating him on the historic performance.

The World Cup triumph caps a breakthrough 2026 season for Bommadevara, who had also won individual and mixed-team gold at the World Cup Stage 3 in Antalya.