Bangladesh settle for silver in compound mixed team after tight battle

Bangladesh settled for the silver medal in the compound mixed team event of the Teer 24th Asian Archery Championships 2025 on Thursday.

In the final, Bangladesh lost narrowly to India by 151–153 points (35–39, 39–38, 39–38, 38–38). The Bangladeshi pair of Bonna Akter and Himu Bachhar put up a strong fight against India's Deepshikha and Abhishek Verma but fell just short in the closing stages.

This marks Bangladesh's first-ever medal in the compound category at the highest stage of Asian archery. With this result, the country now has two silver medals in total -- one each in the recurve and compound categories. Bangladesh had previously won their first silver in 2021 in the recurve mixed team event.

Bonna described the achievement as a special moment for the country. "Alhamdulillah, it feels wonderful to win Bangladesh's first-ever medal in the compound event of the Asian Archery Championships," she said.

Her teammate Himu, making his debut in the continental event, shared similar pride, saying "winning a medal for Bangladesh for the first time in this event will definitely boost our confidence for the future".

Including all editions of the Asian Archery Championships, Bangladesh have now secured four medals in total. Among the three medals won in 2021 were bronze medals in both the recurve men's and women's team events.

Earlier on Thursday morning, South Korea defeated Kazakhstan 156–155 to claim the compound mixed team bronze.

There was a surprise in the compound men's team event, where Kazakhstan edged past India 230–229 (57–56, 56–58, 58–58, 59–57) after a thrilling contest. The Kazakh team of Bunyod Mirzametov, Dilmukhamet Mussa, and Andrey Tyutyun claimed gold, while South Korea took bronze by beating Thailand in a tiebreak -- 30–29 after a 235–235 draw.

In the compound women's team event, India clinched gold with a 236–234 win (59–59, 59–58, 59–59, 58–59). The Indian team featured Deepshikha, Prithika Pradeep, and Jyothi Surekha Vennam. Iran took bronze, defeating Bangladesh 227–224 in the playoff.