Amravati: India ended its 2026 Archery World Cup Stage 1 campaign with a lone gold medal as the compound women’s trio of Jyothi Surekha Vennam, Madhura Dhamangaonkar and Pragati edged past USA 233-232 at the Archery World Cup Stage 1 in Mexico on Saturday.Facing a strong USA line-up of Paige Pearce, Alexis Ruiz and Olivia Dean, the Indian women held their nerve. India women shot consistently across four ends to secure the gold, extending the team’s remarkable run to five World Cup Stage gold medals dating back to Paris Stage 4 in September 2023. Mexico took the bronze, defeating Turkiye 233-230. Earlier, the USA denied hosts Mexico a home final with a 230-229 semifinal win. Top seeded India entered the final after a composed 233-230 semifinal win over Turkiye. The trio had earlier beaten Denmark 235-234 in the quarterfinals.Amravati archer Madhura Dhamangaonkar, a triple medalist at Shanghai Stage 2 last year, steered India convincingly into the team finals along with Pragati (694 in qualification) and Jyothi (691). It was a tough season opener for India’s recurve squads. The men’s team of Yashdeep Bhoge, Dhiraj Bommadevara and Tarundeep Rai exited in the first round to Spain. The women’s team of Deepika Kumari, Simranjeet Kaur, and Kumkum Mohod beat England 5-1 but fell to second-seed Turkiye 4-5 in a shoot-off after scoring 25 to Turkiye’s 29. The recurve mixed pair of Kumkum and Dhiraj led Brazil 3-1 but lost 3-5 in the pre-quarterfinals.
