Bangladesh Archery (Photo World Archery)
Bangladesh and Uzbekistan mixed teams upset top seeds Korea to reach their first finals at the 24th Asian Archery Championships.
This will be Bangladesh’s second final appearance at the Championships since their mixed team silver medal of Hakim Ahmed Rubel and Diya Siddique at the Dhaka 2021 Asian Archery Championships.
The fourth seeds Bangladesh, comprising Bonna Akter and Himu Bachhar, stayed ahead right from the beginning before defeating the higher ranked Koreans – Kim Jongho and Park Yerin 158-153.
Akhter and Bachhar’s impressive win, also their career’s first in a major championships, came a day after 17-year-old Most Kulsum Akther Mone delighted home fans by advancing to the final four of compound women’s individual event. Earlier, the local pair had to also survive a strong quarterfinal challenge from Iran’s Fatemeh Bagheri and Armin Pakzad before winning the tiebreak 19-18.
In the finals, the home team will face second seeds India, comprising experienced Abhishek Verma and youngster Deepshikha, later today. The Indian team had overcome Kazakhstan’s Roxana Yunussova and Andrey Tyutyun in the second semifinals.
In recurve events, top seeds Korea and India will play the bronze medal match after they lost their semifinals to Uzbekistan and Chinese Taipei, respectively.
For Uzbekistan, it was historic as they reached their first final of the Championships, with an upset of the fancied Korean team, comprising Seo Mingi and Jang Minhee.
Uzbekistan’s Amirkhon Sadikov and Ziyodakhon Abdusattorova, both of whom picked up the mixed team bronze together at Sharjah 2022 Asia Cup leg 3, rallied from a set down to shoot X, 10 and 10 in the final set and beat a Korean team that include Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion Minhee.
Uzbekistan will play Chinese Taipei in the final on Friday 14 November, after a young team of Tai Yu-Hsuan and Li Tsai-Chi, pulled off a clinical 6-0 win over India, which had unheralded Anshika Kumari and Yashdeep Sanjay Bhoge.
This will be the second final for Tsai-Chi in Dhaka as Chinese Taipei recurve women’s team reached Friday’s final, continuing her good run in the year which include a team silver at Winnipeg 2025.
The individual competition also narrowed to the final four in each event – with several new names making a mark on the road to the medals.
While Korea’s Kim Jongho, the Bangkok 2023 continental silver medallist, maintained his form to reach the compound men’s semifinals, top seeds in the other three categories – including Yankton 2021 World Archery Champion Jang Minhee – were knocked out earlier than expected.
Jongho survived a strong quarterfinal challenge from Chinese Taipei’s Yen Tzu Hsiang, under-18 bronze medallist at this year’s World Archery Youth Championships in Winnipeg, keeping him on track for a second continental podium.
He will face teammate Lee Eun Ho, one of two emerging Korean men joining the semifinals alongside experienced campaigner Choi Yonghee. Choi will meet Malaysia’s Mohd Juwaidi Mazuki, who continues a strong season with another impressive run.
The compound women’s competition also saw new names break through. Bangladesh’s 17-year-old Most Kulsum Akther Mone delighted home fans by advancing to the final four, upsetting top seed Deepshikha along the way. She will meet India’s Prithika Pradeep, another rising talent and youth silver medallist, in an all-youngster semifinal.
India also retained strong representation through world number two Jyothi Surekha Vennam, who joins Chinese Taipei’s Si-yu Chen in the second semifinal. Chen’s run, highlighted by a win over Korea’s Park Yerin, confirmed the emergence of a new contender in the region.
In the recurve women’s competition, India produced another breakthrough as Ankita Bhakat defeated top seed Jang Minhee to secure a semifinal place. The 24-year-old will face teammate Deepika Kumari, who also impressed in her quarterfinal against Lee Gahyun, making it an all-Indian clash for a spot in the final.
The second semifinal will feature Korea’s Paris 2024 Olympic silver medallist Nam Suhyeon against India’s Sangeeta, who continues her steady rise after previous success at the Tashkent 2023 Asia Cup.
The recurve men’s draw mixed experience with emerging talent. Korea’s Seo Mingi and India’s Dhiraj Bommadevara both advanced as expected, joined by Korea’s Jang Chaehwan and India’s Rahul Rahul – two new faces at this stage of major international competition.
Final fours: Dhaka 2025
Recurve men
- Semifinal: Jang Chaehwan (Korea) versus Dhiraj Bommadevara (India)
- Semifinal: Rahul Rahul (India) versus Seo Mingi (Korea)
Recurve women
- Semifinal: Ankita Bhakat (India) versus Deepika Kumari (India)
- Semifinal: Sangeeta (India) versus Nam Suhyeon (Korea)
Compound men
- Semifinal: Kim Jongho (Korea) versus Lee Eun Ho (Korea)
- Semifinal: Choi Yonghee (Korea) versus Mohd Juwaidi Mazuki (Malaysia)
Compound women
- Semifinal: Most Kulsum Akther Mone (Bangaldesh) versus Prithika Pradeep (India)
- Semifinal: Jyothi Surekha Vennam (India) versus Si-yu Chen (Chinese Taipei)
Mixed Team finalists
- Compound mixed team: Bangladesh versus India
- Recurve mixed team: Uzbekistan versus Chinese Taipei
