News

India tops medal table in Singapore as Dalal doubles up

20 June 2025

Bukit Gombak, Singapore

Real name:

Kushal Dalal claimed his second Asia Cup compound title of the year at the second leg of the competition, held at the Bukit Gombak Stadium in Singapore, defeating Australia’s Joshua Mahon in the gold medal match.

Dalal’s 149 score was his best performance of the week.

“It means a lot to me because I am twice an Asia Cup champion now, and it is continuous,” said Dalal. “It wasn’t my best performance – I thought I could shoot 150 but I dropped a point.”

In hot, humid and rainy conditions, the Indian archer was dominant throughout his title defence, apart from a close call in the quarterfinals against Muhammad Aiman Syafiq Mohd Tariki, where he had to edge a shoot-off to advance.

“It was easy for me to shoot in the wind and in rainy weather, because we were training in the same weather also,” he added.

His compatriot Tejal Rajendra Salve won the compound women’s title in an all-Indian final against Shanmukhi Naga Sai Budde.

Dalal also competed in both the compound men’s team gold medal matches, partnering with Budde in the latter. India took silver in both events, losing twice to Kazakhstan. The compound women’s team added another silver after a shoot-off loss to Malaysia.

In the recurve women’s individual final, China’s Yu Mengting came from 4-0 down to beat Diananda Choirunisa of Indonesia. The pair also met in the recurve women’s team gold medal match, with Indonesia taking the win.

Bangladesh’s Abdur Rahman Alif earned the recurve men’s title, beating Japan’s Gakuto Miyata to secure the 19-year-old’s first senior international victory.

India topped the overall medal table in Singapore – but questions may be asked about team performances in both the recurve and compound categories. There were also standout results for Indonesia, Kazakhstan and Japan.

The final stage of the Asia Cup this year will be held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in December. Before that, the focus shifts to the Asian Archery Championships in Dhaka, Bangladesh in November.

Could we see a breakout star emerge? Perhaps.