Deepika Kumari claimed a silver medal at the Archery World Cup Final 2024, losing to China's Li Jiaman 0-6 in the gold medal match held on October 20 in Tlaxcala, Mexico. This event marked a significant return for Deepika, who had not competed in the World Cup Final for three years following the birth of her daughter in December 2022. As the only Indian archer to secure a medal at this prestigious event, Deepika's performance continues to highlight her status as one of the top archers in the world.
Deepika entered the tournament as the third seed among eight competitors and had a strong run leading up to the finals. She began her campaign with a dominant 6-0 victory over China's Yang Xiaolei, winning the sets with scores of 27-23, 29-22, and 29-27. This early success set the stage for her semifinal match against home favorite Alejandra Valencia, a bronze medalist from the Paris Olympics. In a tightly contested bout, Deepika edged out Valencia 6-4, securing her place in the finals. This win was particularly sweet for Deepika as it avenged her earlier bronze medal loss to Valencia at the Yecheon World Cup earlier this year.
However, the gold medal match proved to be a challenging affair for Deepika. She struggled to find her rhythm and appeared to feel the pressure against Li, who was making her World Cup Final debut. Deepika lost the first set narrowly, 26-27, but she improved in the second set. Unfortunately, Li's flawless performance, including a perfect score of 30 with an X-ring shot, allowed her to take a commanding 2-0 lead by winning the second set 30-28.
The third set was critical, and Deepika faced difficulties as her second arrow landed in the red 7-ring. This lapse allowed Li to close out the set 27-25, thus sealing the victory and the gold medal for the Chinese archer. Despite the setback, Deepika's achievement in reaching the finals is commendable, marking her sixth medal in nine appearances at the World Cup Final, where she has secured five silver medals and one bronze. Dola Banerjee remains the only Indian archer to have won a gold medal at this event, achieving this in Dubai in 2007.
While Deepika’s performance brought pride to the Indian contingent, the rest of the team faced disappointment. Men's recurve archer Dhiraj Bommadevara, the sole Indian qualifier in the men’s section, initially led 4-2 against South Korea’s Paris Olympics bronze medalist, Lee Woo Seok. However, he could not maintain his advantage and ultimately lost the match 4-6 (28-28, 29-26, 28-28, 26-30, 28-29).
In the compound events, the Indian trio—Prathamesh Fuge, Priyansh, and Jyothi Surekha Vennam—also failed to progress to the medal rounds. Fuge finished in fourth place after a narrow semifinal loss, while Priyansh and Vennam were eliminated in the quarterfinals. Priyansh lost a close match against compatriot Fuge, finishing 147-146, while Vennam fell to Estonia’s Meeri-Marita Paas with a score of 145-147.
Fuge's semifinal clash ended in disappointment as he faced Denmark’s Matthias Fullerton in a shoot-off after both finished level at 150. While both archers scored 10s in the shoot-off, Fullerton's arrow landed closer to the bull's-eye, granting him the win and sending Fuge home without a medal.
Overall, Deepika Kumari’s silver medal adds to her illustrious career and showcases her resilience and skill, while the Indian contingent will look to regroup and prepare for future competitions after a challenging outing in Tlaxcala.
