Exclusive! Asian Games 2023 Compound Archery: The hurt of 2018 and the will to go for perfection behind Indian men's team gold in Hangzhou

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India continues to break records at the Asian Games 2023 and the last two days have seen the compound archers rise to the occasion and they are not done yet.

On Wednesday (October 4), it was the turn of the mixed team comprising Jyothi Surekha Vennam and Ojas Pravin Deotale to clinch gold and Thursday (October 5) saw both the men's team and women's team stand atop the podium.

The men's team had both individual finalists Abhishek Verma and rising star Deotale along with Prathamesh Samadhan Jawkar and the final against heavyweights South Korea was expected to be a challenge.

Journey from Asian Games 2018 to 2023

Cast your mind back to the last Asian Games in Jakarta-Palembang and it was the South Koreans who had inflicted a defeat in the final, forcing India to be content with a silver.

However, at the Asian Games 2023, there was no stopping Team India as they clinched gold after a 235-230 victory. Except for one weak shot from Jawkar, India never went below 9 and the final set saw them hit six 10s in a row to halt any hopes of a comeback from South Korea.

Abhishek Verma is the lone survivor from the team that won silver in 2018 and he has been India's flagbearer in the sport. He told myKhel after the historic gold that the pain and hurt of 2018 was what kept him and the team motivated.

"I had kept the hurt alive in my mind for five years. Since I was part of the team that lost to South Korea in the last edition, I reminded my team that we could not falter this time around and that our aim was not just to get revenge but to go after perfection. I'm glad we managed perfect scores when it mattered and it feels great to win gold again."

Compound team events started in the 2014 Incheon Asian Games and in the inaugural edition, it was India that had triumphed over South Korea in the final and Verma was a member of that team as well.

"We have beaten South Korea before. I know what it takes to win gold. There was no unnecessary pressure. The team has been winning the entire year around and that boosted our confidence a lot."

The individuals have certainly displayed great form prior to the Asian Games 2023. Jawkar had won individual gold at the Archery World Cup Stage II in Shanghai while Verma won top honours in Stage III in Medellín. Not to mention Ojas' World Championship gold. The trio combined to win team gold in Paris during Stage IV, which was another boost.

While Verma is almost a veteran and has many medals to his name, Ojas is a rising talent as seen from his World Championship gold. Both are set to go head-to-head in the final on Saturday with a goal and silver guaranteed for India.

"I feel proud to have such a strong team with me. We are all highly motivated and in form and that is a huge bonus and it drives each other to perform better. It is India's win and that is most important," Verma signed off.