Dhiraj ends a 20-year wait with a historic double gold in the third leg of the World Cup

India’s Dhiraj Bommadevara (Image: ANI) It took India’s top archer Dhiraj Bommadevar 20 long years since he picked up his bow to win gold at the World Championships. And when he was able to do it, he won on Sunday at the III. stage of the World Cup in Antalya ‘double’.24-year-old Olympian Dhiraj and 17-year-old Kumkum Anil Mohod, making their first appearance this season, stunned Korean duo Kim Je-deok and Oh Ye-jin 5-1 (37-36, 37-36, 39-39) to win India’s first match for mixed team gold2 at a World Cup since 2022 when they won the World Mixed Team Championship in Antalya 202. and Tarundeep Rai finished on top.It was a near-perfect run for the duo, who beat Denmark 6-0, the USA 6-2 and Germany 6-2, to book their place in Sunday’s final against Korea, which has won both Olympic mixed team gold medals since the event joined the Tokyo 2020 Games.A few hours later, Dhiraj returned to the arena to tame Germany’s Moritz Wieser 6-4 (2627, 28-28, 28-28, 3027, 28-23) in the singles semi-finals and then Lee Woo Seok of South Korea, a bronze medalist from the Paris Olympics, 292287.30 (27-287.30). 27-29, 30-29) in the summit clash.Dhiraj, who made his World Cup debut in 2021, built on his performances in 2023, 24 and 25 when he won a bronze medal at the World Cup and also reached the season-ending World Cup final.Rising star Kumkum was also part of the women’s recurve team that stunned 10-time Olympic champions Korea in the semi-finals en route to gold at the World Championships in Shanghai last month. Although a more experienced Dhiraj was seen leading Kumkum during the finale, he later stated, “I learned a lot from her fearless way of shooting.