Dhiraj Bommadevara Becomes First Indian Man To Win Archery World Cup Final

September 14, 2026

Saltillo, Mexico: Sixteen years after Jayanta Talukdar put India on the podium, Dhiraj Bommadevara created history in the men’s recurve division by becoming the first Indian male archer to win the Archery World Cup Final.

The 25-year-old Army archer, ranked World No. 10, defeated Japan’s Nakanishi Junya 6-5 in a thrilling final in Saltillo that went down to a shoot-off.

With the contest locked at 5-5 after five sets, Dhiraj produced a perfect 10 in the shoot-off, while Nakanishi managed a nine to seal the gold medal for the Indian archer.

Dhiraj Holds His Nerve In Tense Final

The victory marked a breakthrough for Dhiraj, who had returned from his previous two World Cup Final appearances in 2023 and 2024 without a medal.

This time, he navigated the knockout rounds with authority before facing World No. 20 Nakanishi in a tense battle for the title.

Neither archer was willing to give ground during the final. The set scores were 28-28, 28-29, 29-28, 28-30 and 28-27, leaving the gold medal to be decided by the shoot-off.

Dhiraj’s 10 proved decisive, with Nakanishi scoring nine.

Dhiraj Rewrites India’s World Cup Final Record

Dhiraj’s victory also rewrote India’s record at the prestigious season-ending event.

Jayanta Talukdar had previously won a bronze medal in Edinburgh in 2010, but no Indian man had gone all the way to gold since the tournament’s inception.

India’s only other individual Archery World Cup Final champion remains Dola Banerjee, who won the women’s title in Dubai in 2007.

Dhiraj’s triumph therefore marks India’s first World Cup Final gold since Banerjee’s success 19 years ago.

Third Attempt Brings Dhiraj His Biggest Title

The achievement comes at a tournament where Deepika Kumari remains India’s most decorated archer. She has collected six World Cup Final medals — five silver and one bronze — across eight appearances.

For Dhiraj, however, Saltillo was about creating a record of his own.

After two previous attempts ended without a medal, the Army archer finally converted his third World Cup Final appearance into the biggest title of his career, while opening a new chapter for Indian men’s recurve archery.