Dominant start, nervous end: Sahil, Chikitha survive shootout to win mixed team gold

Indian archers Sahil Rajesh and Chikitha Taniparthi secured Olympic qualification for Los Angeles 2028 after winning the mixed team gold medal at the Asian Games on Wednesday and surviving a nervous shoot-off against South Korea’s Choi Yonghee and Park Jungyoon.

India looked headed for gold after a near-perfect start, but a late wobble allowed South Korea to pull level at 157-157 and force a shootout. The Indian pair kept their nerve when it mattered most, shooting a perfect 10-10 combination to put the pressure back on their opponents.

South Korea was no match for them. One of their archers hit 9 to hand India the gold medal and complete their second archery triumph of the day. Screenshot: SonyLiv

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The victory had significance beyond the Asian Games podium. Combined archery will make its Olympic debut at Los Angeles 2028, with the mixed team event among the new events on the programme. The Asian Games champions were guaranteed one men’s and one women’s quota place for LA28, making a gold medal in Okazaki a direct route to Olympic qualification for India.

India entered the final against a South Korean pair who had already shown how high scores can go. Earlier in the competition, Choi and Park combined for a world record 160, hitting all 10 over their 16 arrows.

So the Koreans reached the final with the weight of that performance behind them. However, India started without any visible signs of being overwhelmed.

Sahil and Chikitha were perfect in the opening two ends, hitting all eight arrows in the 10-ring to score 80 out of 80. In comparison, South Korea lost two points after shooting two nines to finish the opening stage on 78.

The Indian pair built a two-point lead and looked to be heading for a comfortable victory.

Sahil regularly spoke to Chikitha between shots, helping her settle down and line up her arrows as the pair looked to build on India’s strong start. The gold was also significant for the Indian archery contingent who had already won the title earlier in the day. Sahil Rajesh in the Asian Games final. (AP photo)

But the final changed in the third end.

Both Indian archers lost a point, with the pair finishing the end on 38 from 40. South Korea took advantage of the opening, kept their composure and continued to search for the 10-ring with remarkable consistency.

The margin that India had built up started disappearing.

The Koreans almost completely erased the deficit by the final end. India needed to hold their nerve but another 9 left the door open. South Korea capitulated and the score was tied at 157-157 after 16 arrows apiece.

The final went from a seemingly comfortable Indian victory to a one-ended shootout.

Sahil and Chikitha once again took their positions knowing that one mistake could decide the gold medal. There was little between the two teams throughout the final, and it was no different in the opening shots of the shootout.

However, India produced a perfect response.

Sahil and Chikitha both scored 10s.

The pressure shifted completely to South Korea and one of their arrows landed in the 9-circle. That one point difference was enough. India won the shootout and with it the gold medal at the Asian Games. South Korea is fumbling at the very end. (AP photo)

The win also extended India’s title defense in the mixed team competition. The discipline was one of the country’s strongest archery fields at the Asian Games and this year’s result came with the added motivation of Olympic qualification. World Archery named the mixed team competition as one of the LA28 qualifying events, with the Asian Games champion securing a place in the men’s and women’s quota.

WHO IS SAHIL RAJESH?

For Sahil, the gold medal is the culmination of a journey that began almost a decade ago after a neighbor introduced him to archery.

Sahil took up the sport in 2016 after watching his neighbor train. He played several sports during his school years and was looking for one discipline to pursue seriously when archery caught his attention.

He eventually began training at the Drushti Archery Academy where he developed his basic skills and gradually transitioned from a young athlete trying out a new sport to a competitive archer.

The path was not always straightforward.

Financial difficulties at times made it difficult for Sahil to continue training and competing in tournaments. In 2022, he even considered giving up archery altogether due to the financial burden.

His family, especially his father, helped prevent that from happening.

His parents supported his decision to continue and assured him that they would manage the financial difficulties, allowing Sahil to remain focused on his training and competitive ambitions.

The support started to pay off for him when he made his international breakthrough in 2025. Since then, he has represented India at the Archery World Cup stages and continental competitions, winning two international medals, one silver and one bronze.

The Asian Games gold is now the biggest medal of his career and has also taken him to the Olympics, which will be a first for archery.

WHO IS CHIKITHA TANIPARTHI?

Chikita’s introduction to archery came much earlier and from her own family.

A compound archer from Telangana, Chikitha comes from a farming family and her father encouraged her to take up the sport when she was in Class 2. He read about archery in a newspaper and encouraged his daughter to try it.

What started as an early interest gradually became a passion.

Chikitha formally began her archery journey in 2018 and took up the sport professionally in 2021. Four years later, she made her international breakthrough and established herself as an important member of the Indian combined archery squad.

Her breakthrough year also produced the biggest individual success of her young career.

At the 2025 Archery World Youth Championships in Winnipeg, Chikitha won the under-21 individual gold medal. She became the first Indian woman to win this title in the history of the event.

She also represented India in the 2025 Archery World Cup circuit and was gaining experience at the senior international level.

At the Asian Games, this development took another significant step.

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