India's superb performance at the 2022 Asian Games was built in large part on two accuracy sports — archery and shooting. Between them they delivered a huge share of the medal tally, with archery producing a historic upset and shooting turning in the single best showing by any Indian discipline at the Games. So what does 2026 hold for both?
Archery
7th October 2022 was an unforgettable day for Indian sports fans. For the first time in the history of the Asian Games, South Korea finished second in the archery medal table. The archery world was stunned that the legendary Korean team had been dethroned — and it was India that topped the standings, finishing with an outstanding 5 gold, 2 silver, and 2 bronze medals. The big question now is: what does 2026 hold for us?
Let us start with Compound. First, I must say that the selection trials for the Asian Games have produced a somewhat unexpected group of compound archers. Even so, I believe India can win 3–5 gold medals in this discipline. Jyothi Surekha Vennam, along with the women's team, men's team, and mixed team, are all strong contenders for gold.
The biggest challenge is likely to come from South Korea, which has invested heavily in compound archery over the last four years and will arrive in 2026 determined to reclaim the overall title. Even so, I expect India to win 3–5 gold medals and around five medals in total in compound.
As for Recurve, I believe South Korea will be overwhelming favourites in all three team events as well as the women's individual event. However, Dhiraj Bommadevara has the potential to snatch the men's individual title based on his current form, especially after his World Cup gold medal in Antalya.
Overall, matching India's remarkable performance from 2022 will be difficult, but I believe we can come very close in 2026.
Shooting
If there was one standout sport for India at the 2022 Asian Games, it was undoubtedly shooting. It delivered an incredible haul of 7 gold medals and 22 medals overall, by far the best performance by any Indian sport at the Games. Our chances of retaining 4th place in the overall medal standings will once again depend heavily on shooting.
Unfortunately, things have not gone quite as well in the 2026 Shooting World Cups. The rifle events, in particular, have looked surprisingly weak. Across the three World Cups held so far, India has managed just one bronze medal in the five rifle events, making this our biggest area of concern.
Rifle Events. India won three gold medals in the rifle events at the last Asian Games. This time, however, even one gold would be a good result. I see India finishing with 0–2 gold medals, with the men's 3 Positions team and the women's 10m Air Rifle team being our strongest gold medal prospects. That said, India remains probably the second-best rifle nation after China, so I still expect us to medal in most of the nine rifle events. My prediction is 0–2 gold medals and 6–9 medals overall.
Pistol Events. The pistol shooters, especially the women, have performed well this year. After winning three gold medals last time, I believe India can at least match that tally and possibly even improve on it. My prediction is 3–5 gold medals and 6–11 medals overall in the pistol events.
Shotgun Events. I think India's biggest hope in shotgun comes from Neetu, who recently won a World Cup gold medal in women's trap. Overall, India has a realistic chance of winning medals in all three trap events. My prediction is 0–2 gold medals and 3–4 medals overall in the shotgun events.
| Category | 2022 Gold | 2026 Gold (pred.) | 2026 Total (pred.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rifle | 3 | 0–2 | 6–9 |
| Pistol | 3 | 3–5 | 6–11 |
| Shotgun | 1 | 0–2 | 3–4 |
| Total (22 in 2022) | 7 | 3–9 | 18–25 |
Compound stronghold
3–5- Jyothi Surekha Vennam plus women's, men's, mixed teams
- South Korea is the biggest threat after heavy investment
Recurve underdog
0–1- Dhiraj Bommadevara can upset in men's individual
- South Korea favourites in all three team events
Rifle rebuild
0–2- Just one bronze across three 2026 World Cups so far
- Men's 3P team and women's 10m air rifle best hopes
Pistol & shotgun push
3–7- Women pistol shooters in strong form this year
- Neetu's World Cup trap gold lifts shotgun hopes
Taken together, archery and shooting remain the backbone of India's medal push — a combined floor of around nine golds and a ceiling that could touch fifteen, with shooting's rifle slump the one real cloud on the horizon. In the next post we will look at some of India's traditional sports — Kabaddi, Hockey, and Cricket.
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