Dhiraj Bommadevara and Neeraj Chauhan Reach Asian Games Recurve Quarterfinals

India has two archers through to the men's individual recurve quarterfinals at the 2026 Asian Games after Dhiraj Bommadevara and Neeraj Chauhan survived contrasting challenges on a dramatic morning at the archery range.

Dhiraj followed up a dominant opening-round victory with a 6-2 win over Chinese Taipei's Cheng Hsiang-Hui in the Round of 16. Neeraj, meanwhile, produced the headline result of the session, defeating South Korea's Kim Je Deok 6-4 after a tense contest that went down to the final set. The two victories ensure India has two representatives in the quarterfinals, with both now scheduled to return on October 3 for the quarterfinal, semifinal and medal rounds.

Dhiraj will face Uzbekistan's Amirkhon Sadikov, while Neeraj will take on Bhutan's Dorji Lam.

Dhiraj entered the individual competition as the top seed and immediately showed why. In the Round of 32, the Indian dispatched the Philippines' Girvin Garcia 6-0, winning three straight sets. His performance was particularly clean, with Dhiraj needing just nine arrows to complete the victory and hitting six 10s in those nine shots.

That set up a Round of 16 meeting against Cheng Hsiang-Hui of Chinese Taipei. The second contest demanded more from the Indian.

Dhiraj opened by winning the first set and moved into an early 2-0 lead. Cheng responded in the second set, levelling the match at 2-2. The Indian then regained control.

Dhiraj won the third set to move 4-2 ahead before closing the match with another set victory. The final score read 6-2, sending him into the quarterfinals. While the margin was not as emphatic as his opening-round victory, Dhiraj remained composed through the changing momentum of the contest. One unusual blemish came in the second set, where he recorded an eight, but it did not derail his overall performance.

His reward is a quarterfinal against Uzbekistan's Sadikov.

Neeraj survives an early scare

Neeraj's route to the quarterfinals was considerably more complicated. His campaign had already featured a dramatic comeback in the Round of 32 against Indonesia's Riau Ega Agata Salsabilla. Neeraj fell 0-4 down after the opening two sets but refused to let the match slip away. He won the next three sets in succession to complete a 6-4 comeback victory.

The decisive fifth set came down to the final arrows. Salsabilla shot an eight, while Neeraj responded with a nine to secure the victory. That comeback earned him a difficult Round of 16 assignment against South Korea's Kim Je Deok. Kim was not just another opponent. He had finished second in the ranking round, behind Dhiraj, and brought significant Olympic experience into the elimination stages.

Neeraj nevertheless made an excellent start. He won the opening set and took a 2-0 lead. Kim responded, and a tied second set left Neeraj ahead 3-1.

The South Korean then began to turn the contest around. Kim won the next set to make it 3-3, setting up a tense final phase. Another tied set followed, leaving the match at 4-4 and sending the contest into a fifth and deciding set. Everything therefore came down to one final set.

With the quarterfinal place on the line, Neeraj held his nerve. He won the fifth set to complete a 6-4 victory, eliminating one of the most formidable names in the field.

The result was particularly significant given Kim's position in the ranking round. The South Korean had entered the elimination stage as the second seed, yet Neeraj found a way to negotiate the pressure and close out the match. The victory also capped a remarkable turnaround for Neeraj within the space of two matches. He had begun his individual campaign 0-4 down against Salsabilla. Two matches later, he had defeated the second-ranked archer from the ranking round and secured his place in the last eight.

The results give India two quarterfinalists in the men's individual recurve event. Dhiraj has taken a more controlled route through the draw, defeating Garcia 6-0 before overcoming Cheng 6-2.

Neeraj has had to fight through two much tighter contests, first recovering from 0-4 against Salsabilla and then defeating Kim 6-4. The contrasting journeys now converge at the quarterfinal stage. Dhiraj Bommadevara vs Amirkhon Sadikov will be one of the quarterfinals, while Neeraj Chauhan vs Dorji Lam will decide the other Indian quarterfinalist's route towards the medals.

The quarterfinals, semifinals and medal rounds are scheduled for October 3. For now, India's men's recurve campaign has two archers remaining in the individual draw.

Dhiraj has continued the momentum expected from the top seed. Neeraj has supplied the comeback victories and the upset. Both now stand three matches away from the Asian Games podium, with the next stage set to provide another test of their composure under pressure.