September 30 was Indian archery’s golden day at the Asian Games, with two gold medals, a world record and an Olympic quota.

First, the women’s compound team of Jyothi Surekha Vennam, Chikitha Taniparthi and Prithika Pradeep beat China 238-234. Their 238 equalled South Korea’s world record from 2014.

Hours later, Chikitha paired with Sahil Jadhav in the compound mixed team final. Tied 157-157 with South Korea, India won the shoot-off 20-19 to take gold.

The mixed team gold secured India a quota for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, where compound archery makes its Olympic debut. India became the first nation to qualify for the event.

The double continues India’s compound dominance. At Hangzhou 2023, India swept all five compound golds on offer. No other nation has matched that depth in recent editions.

What next: with LA28 quotas in hand, India’s archers can now build towards the sport’s biggest stage with two years of runway.