Indian archer Neeraj Chauhan clinched the bronze medal in the men’s individual recurve event at the Asian Games on Saturday, defeating compatriot and top seed Dhiraj Bommadevara 6-4 in a closely contested all-Indian playoff.
Neeraj made a strong start by winning the opening set 29-26, but Dhiraj responded in the next two sets to take a 4-2 lead. With the bronze medal within reach for Dhiraj, Neeraj produced a perfect 30 in the fourth set to level the contest at 4-4.
The decisive fifth set remained tense, with both archers under pressure. Neeraj held his composure and finished strongly to win the set 29-28 and seal the bronze medal with a 6-4 victory.
The medal marks a significant achievement for Indian men's recurve archery. Neeraj became only the second Indian male archer after Tarundeep Rai to win an individual recurve medal at the Asian Games. Rai had claimed silver at the 2010 Guangzhou Games.
Both Neeraj and Dhiraj had already contributed to India's medal haul in the team and mixed events at the Games. Neeraj's bronze also gave India a podium finish in the men's individual recurve competition.
