India ace archer and three-time Olympian Deepika Kumari made a victorious return to international championships by clinching a gold medal in the Asia Cup 2024 in Baghdad, Iraq on Sunday.
Kumari secured the top position in the women’s individual recurve category. Meanwhile, India finished the competition with 14 medals with nine gold, four silver, and one bronze, as per Olympics.com.
Deepika Kumari was playing in her first international event since the Paris Archery World Cup held in June 2022. She beat fellow Indian archer Simranjeet Kaur 6-2 in the title clash to win the individual recurve title.
In December 2022, Kumari welcomed a baby girl with fellow Indian archer Atanu Das. She made her return to the game with a gold medal in the National Games in Goa in 2023 and also topped the national selection trials held in Kolkata last month, making it back to Team India.
Meanwhile, Dhiraj Bommadevara defeated his senior and Olympian Tarundeep Rai 7-3 to clinch the men’s recurve archery title.
A glance at India’s medal tally
It is noteworthy that India topped the podium in all individual competitions, and secured top spots in men’s and women’s compound archery events.
Parneet Kaur secured the gold medal in the women’s compound archery event by defeating Iran’s Fatemeh Hemmati with a score of 138-135. In the men’s category, Prathamesh Jawkar emerged victorious, triumphing over his compatriot Kushal Dalal with a score of 146-144.
In the women’s team recurve archery final, Simranjeet Kaur, Deepika Kumari, and Bhajan Kaur showcased a commendable performance, clinching victory over Uzbekistan with a score of 5-4 in a closely contested match that went to a shootout.
On the men’s side, Dhiraj Bommadevara, Pravin Ramesh Jadhav, and Tarundeep Rai claimed the men’s recurve archery title by defeating Bangladesh with a score of 6-2.
India continued its dominance in archery as Dhiraj and Simranjeet teamed up to secure the mixed team recurve title, defeating Bangladesh with a commanding score of 6-0 in the title clash.