Parth Salunkhe and Deepika Kumari performed creditably well to clinch the recurve men’s and women’s individual bronze medals respectively on the concluding day of the Archery World Cup Stage-2 in Shanghai on Sunday.
After getting beaten 6-4 by current Olympics champion Kim Woojin in a tough semifinal clash, 2023 World youth under-21 champion Salunkhe got the better of 18-year-old Paris Olympics men’s team silver medallist Frenchman Baptiste Addis 6-4 in a keenly-fought bronze medal match. This was Salunkhe’s maiden World Cup Stage medal.

Deepika Kumari of India during the women’s recurve finals in the Archery World Cup 2025 Stage 2 on MAY 11, 2025 in Shanghai, China.
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Four-time Olympian Deepika, who lost to Korea’s reigning Olympic champion and World No.1 Lim Sihyeon 7-1 in the last-four stage, held her nerve to defeat another Korean, Tokyo Olympics team gold medallist Kang Chaeyoung, 7-3 in a battle for the bronze and bagged her first World Cup Stage medal of the season.
“I didn’t expect anything from me. My mission is different. That is very important for me because there is a different environment, a different feeling, a little anxiety, a little happiness. I want to achieve that (gold) in that place,” Deepika told World Archery on her 2028 Olympics ambition.
The results: Recurve: Men: Parth Salunkhe lost to Kim Woojin (Kor) 6-4 (27-26, 30-28, 27-28, 28-29, 28-25) (semifinal), bt Baptiste Addis (Fra) 6-4 (30-28, 28-28, 25-25, 27-30, 29-28) (bronze medal match).
Women: Deepika Kumari lost to Lim Sihyeon (Kor) 7-1 (27-26, 28-28, 30-28, 29-28) (semifinal), bt Kang Chaeyoung (Kor) 7-3 (27-27, 28-27, 27-30, 30-29, 29-28) (bronze medal match).
Published – May 11, 2025 05:50 pm IST