Great Britain tops medal table in Rome Para Cup after fierce battle with Italy and India
Great Britain just edged out India and Italy at the top of the medal table as Rome 2025 wrapped up on Saturday with gold medal finals across multiple individual and team categories at the Stadio dei Marmi.
The biggest scalp of the day was India’s Rakesh Kumar. The highest ranked archer coming into the event – but seeded third here – upset favourite Nathan MacQueen of Great Britain in the compound men’s final.
Kumar found the gears precisely when needed to pressure the experienced MacQueen, a Paralympic gold medallist.
“It feels very good, coming all the way from India, from a small village in Katra and coming here to win a gold medal and doing it with the last three arrows being 10-10-10.” said Rakesh. “It’s just a very good feeling.”
Last year, the Indian archer finished in an agonising fourth place in the individual Olympic competition in Paris but claimed mixed team bronze with Sheetal Devi. He was also part of the Indian pair that won mixed team gold at the 2023 World Archery Para Championships.
It wasn’t be the last time that day India edged out Great Britain, as Dhanna Ram Godara pushed out Cameron Radigan for gold, 7-3, in a five-set recurve men’s final.
Meanwhile, Poland’s Milena Olszewska, a Rio 2016 Paralympic bronze medallist, secured her first major win since 2018, beating Dorothea Poimenidou in the recurve women’s final.
There was better news for Great Britain with Jessica Stretton taking gold against her teammate Jodie Grinham in a shoot-off.
“Honestly, it was a bit of a wild ride,” Stretton said afterwards. “It just proves how close we are in level... It’s easier to win against someone you don’t know. I always feel a little bit bad if I win against a teammate!”
The day began with team competition across the classifications. In the W1 category, the Czech teams driven by Paralympic Champion David Drahoninsky took gold medals – first in the men’s doubles with Karel Davidek, then in the mixed team with Tereza Brandtlova. These pairings are no strangers to the top of the podium.
With China – the powerhouse of Paralympic archery – absent from this leg of the circuit, along with other big names such as Türkiye and Iran, it’s hard to draw firm conclusions about the road to the World Archery Para Championships in Gwangju in September. But one thing is certain: the competition will inevitably be fierce.
The second and final leg of the European Para Cup circuit will take place in the familiar surroundings of Nove Mesto in August, shortly before the worlds in Korea.
You can rewatch the finals from Rome on archery+.
Winners: Rome 2025
- Recurve men: Dhanna Ram Godara, India
- Recurve women: Milena Olszewska, Poland
- Compound men: Rakesh Kumar, India
- Compound women: Jessica Stretton, Great Britain
- W1 men: Tamás Gáspár, Hungary
- W1 women: Isabel Fernandez Jimenez, Spain
- VI 1: Christos Misos, Cyprus
- VI 2/3: Daniele Piran, Italy
Medal table: Rome 2025
Countries with at least one gold medal listed.
1. 
Great Britain: 9 (3 gold, 3 silver, 3 bronze)
2. 
India: 8 (3 gold, 2 silver, 3 bronze)
3. 
Italy: 9 (2 gold, 5 silver, 2 bronze)
4. 
Czechia: 3 (2 gold, 1 silver)
5. 
Korea: 2 (1 gold, 1 bronze)
5. 
France: 2 (1 gold, 1 bronze)
7. 
Poland: 1 (1 gold)
7. 
Hungary: 1 (1 gold)
7. 
Spain: 1 (1 gold)
7. 
Cyprus: 1 (1 gold)
Athletes representing 16 countries collected the 47 medals across 16 events awarded at the first leg of the European Para Archery Cup. A total of 214 archers from 29 countries competed in the event held in Rome, Italy on 25-31 May 2025.
