India struck gold four times on Day 11 of the Asian Games 2026 on Wednesday, with a sweep of the compound archery team titles and an Asian record from trap mixed team shooters Neeru Dhanda and Kynan Chenai.

It was the country’s best single-day gold haul at the Games since September 19. The archers successfully defended their men’s, women’s and mixed team Gold medals, combining an emphatic women’s victory with tense finishes in the other two finals.

The mixed team triumph also delivered an Olympic quota for India. Chikitha Taniparthi and Sahil Jadhav’s victory made the country the first to qualify for the compound mixed team event at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, where the discipline will make its debut.

Chikitha and Sahil each finished the day with two golds, while Neeru added the mixed team title to the individual trap gold she had won on Tuesday.

Women equal world record to launch gold rush

Jyothi Surekha Vennam, Chikitha and Prithika Pradeep set the tone with a 238-234 victory over China’s Wunier, Yue Wang and Fangyao Wei in the women’s compound team final.

Their total equalled the world record set by South Korea at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games. India opened with a perfect 60 to lead 60-58 and remained ahead 178-176 going into the final end.

China’s two nines in the closing end proved costly as the Indian trio finished with six tens, retaining the title with another perfect 60.

“We pushed each other and kept telling each other that we have to give our best. Even if we had one bad shot, a nine score, we kept bucking each other up and saying ‘Get back to what you know best and keep focusing on that’,” Prithika said.

The team title brought another gold for Jyothi, who had also been part of the winning women’s side in Hangzhou. It came after her individual title defence ended with a pre-quarterfinal defeat to 14-year-old South Korean Kang Yeon-seo.

“The competition was very good, both in the semifinal and final matches. We performed very well as a team and won the gold medal, so I feel very good,” Jyothi said.

South Korea defeated Chinese Taipei to take bronze.

Mixed team hold nerve for gold and Olympic quota

Chikitha and Sahil carried the momentum into the mixed team final against South Korea’s Park Jungyoon and Choi Eun Gyu, having edged Thailand 156-155 in the semifinals.

The Indians began with a perfect 40 to lead 40-39 and extended their advantage to two points by the second end. Their lead narrowed to 118-117 after the third.

South Korea’s strong finish left India needing two tens from their last two arrows to win outright. Chikitha scored nine, but Sahil delivered a 10 to level the scores and force a shoot-off.

Both Indians then struck tens in the tie-break, while Choi could manage only nine, settling the gold medal contest.

“This is my first Asian Games and I won mixed and team medals. I could not have asked for more,” Chikitha said.

“In the shoot-off, I was like, I have to give my best. I tried to be calm and followed my process.”

Men complete sweep with one-point win

Kushal Dalal, Sahil and Ganesh Mani Ratnam Thirumuru completed the archery sweep by rallying to beat China’s Jiahao Liao, Jinyi Liu and Jingyu Shi 238-237 in the men’s compound team final.

Neeru, Kynan set Asian record in trap final

Neeru and Kynan gave the shooting campaign another late lift, scoring 34 in the trap mixed team final after qualifying fourth.

Their total surpassed the Asian record of 30 set by Qatar in January this year. Qatar’s Mohammed Al-Rumaihi and Ray Bassil took silver with 32, while China’s Qi Ying and Sun Yunong won bronze with 23.

Kynan had been the stronger Indian in qualification, scoring 73 against Neeru’s 63. He continued to hit consistently in the final, while Neeru recovered from a shaky start.

Neeru attributed her subdued qualification score to stiffness after competing in relentless rain and cold in Tuesday’s individual event.

For the 26-year-old, the gold capped a campaign that yielded two golds and a silver. Her individual victory on Tuesday made her the first Indian woman to win an Asian Games individual trap medal and delivered India’s first individual shooting gold of this edition.

She had also led the women’s trap team, alongside Aashima Ahlawat and Manisha Keer, to silver.

Kynan, who had won a World Cup bronze with Neeru earlier this year, called theirs a lucky pairing. He also revealed that the gun barrel he used belonged to his father, Darius, a national-level shotgun shooter.

“I wish he doesn’t ask me to return it to him... he has been a two time national champion and now competes in the senior category. This barrel, I suppose, he bought 30 years back,” Kynan said.