India’s women retain Asian Games compound archery gold with 238–234 win
India’s women’s compound archery team retained its Asian Games title on September 30, 2026, defeating China 238–234 in the final in Okazaki, Japan. Jyothi Surekha Vennam, Chikitha Taniparthi and Prithika Pradeep combined for a score that matched the women’s compound team world record, turning a closely contested route to the final into a commanding gold-medal performance.
The victory gave India its seventh gold of the 2026 Games and its first archery gold of this edition. A medal-table snapshot shortly after the final listed India with 53 medals: seven gold, 21 silver and 25 bronze. That figure reflects the tally at the time of the women’s win, not a final count for September 30, with other events continuing through the day.
Near-perfect shooting against China
In a compound team match, three archers each shoot two arrows per end. Over four ends, that gives a team 24 arrows and a maximum possible score of 240. India dropped only two points across the entire final, scoring 60, 59, 59 and 60 to reach 238.
India opened with six 10s for a perfect 60, taking a two-point lead over China. Another 59 in the second end put the Indian trio ahead 119–116 at the halfway point. China responded with a perfect third end, but India’s 59 kept it in front, 178–176. With the title still within reach for both sides, Vennam, Taniparthi and Pradeep finished with another perfect 60. China scored 58 in the last end, leaving India four points clear.
The individual scores underline how little margin India gave its opponents. Vennam and Pradeep each scored 80 from their eight arrows, while Taniparthi contributed 78. Their combined 238 equalled the world-record team match score established by a South Korean women’s trio in 2014. It was an equal-record performance, not a new outright record.
A narrow semifinal, then a title defence
The final followed a much tighter semifinal against South Korea. India edged that match 234–233 to earn its place against China. The one-point win required the team to hold its nerve against another leading compound archery nation; the final then showed how decisively the same trio could shoot when gold was on the line.
For Vennam, the result added another Asian Games gold to a collection that included three titles at the previous edition in Hangzhou. It was also a successful title defence for India in the women’s compound team event, although the lineup had changed since the 2023 victory. Taniparthi and Pradeep joined Vennam on the podium this time, each playing a direct part in the near-perfect final score.
India and China had been closely matched before the knockout rounds. Both teams posted a combined 2,099 points in qualification, with China taking the higher seed on the number of arrows in the inner 10-ring. The final reversed that ordering: India led from the first end and never surrendered its advantage.
What the gold means for India
Each team gold counts as one medal in the national tally, rather than one medal per archer. Even so, the three performances behind this victory carried weight beyond a single addition to India’s total. The win raised India’s gold count to seven at the early post-final snapshot and kept the country’s women’s compound team on top at successive Asian Games.
The medal count could change as more finals concluded, but the result in Okazaki was settled: India beat China by four points, retained its title and matched the highest score recorded in a women’s compound team match. After surviving South Korea by the narrowest margin in the semifinal, Vennam, Taniparthi and Pradeep left no such opening in the final.
