Meet Dhiraj Bommadevara, the Archer Rewriting India’s Record Books at Asian Games

Dhiraj Bommadevara has quickly emerged as one of India's leading recurve archers. Fresh from becoming the first Indian male to win an individual Archery World Cup Final title, the 25-year-old began his Asian Games campaign by setting a new Games record with 698 points in qualification.

Who is Dhiraj Bommadevara?

Born in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, Dhiraj Bommadevara is an Indian recurve archer and an Indian Army athlete. He trained at the Cherukuri Volga Archery Academy in Vijayawada before moving to the Army Sports Institute in Pune.

Bommadevara has been part of India's international recurve setup for several years and represented the country at the Paris 2024 Olympics, where he finished fourth in the mixed team event alongside Ankita Bhakat.

He has since moved into a different bracket of his career, winning major individual titles and establishing himself among the leading recurve archers in the world.

Dhiraj Bommadevara's biggest achievement came just weeks before Asian Games

Bommadevara entered the Asian Games on the back of the biggest individual victory of his career.

At the 2026 Archery World Cup Final in Saltillo, Mexico, he defeated Japan's Nakanishi Junya 6-5 in a shoot-off to become the first Indian male recurve archer to win the individual World Cup Final.

He became only the second Indian archer overall to win an individual World Cup Final title, after Dola Banerjee's women's recurve triumph in 2007.

The victory capped a breakthrough 2026 season for Bommadevara. He had already won individual gold at the Antalya World Cup stage and used that result to qualify for the season-ending World Cup Final.

Dhiraj Bommadevara breaks Asian Games record

Bommadevara's form continued when the archery competition began at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.

He shot 698 out of a possible 720 in the men's recurve qualification round to finish first and set a new Asian Games record. The previous mark was 690, held by South Korea's Lee Woo Seok.

His score came from 72 arrows, with Bommadevara producing 348 points in his opening 36 arrows before adding 350 in the second half.

The performance also gave him the top seed for the individual knockout draw.

Importantly, the qualification score itself does not constitute a medal. It determines the knockout positions and draws for the elimination rounds.

What records has Dhiraj Bommadevara broken?

The 698 is the key Asian Games record from his opening day.

There is also a broader piece of history attached to Bommadevara's name this month. His World Cup Final victory made him the first Indian male recurve archer to win the individual title at the event.

From Olympic heartbreak to World Cup history

Bommadevara's rise has not been linear.

At Paris 2024, he and Ankita Bhakat finished fourth in the mixed team event, narrowly missing a medal. He had also been part of India's silver-medal-winning men's recurve team at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou.

His breakthrough on the individual stage came at the 2025 Asian Archery Championships, where he won the men's recurve title.

He followed that with his maiden World Cup individual gold at Antalya in 2026 before producing his historic World Cup Final victory in Mexico.

What next for Dhiraj Bommadevara?

The record-setting qualification is only the opening chapter of Bommadevara's Asian Games campaign.

The individual recurve eliminations will determine whether the Indian can convert his record-breaking start into a medal. The competition also features team and mixed-team events, giving Bommadevara multiple opportunities to add to his Asian Games medal tally.

For Bommadevara, the Asian Games represent another significant stage in a 2026 season that has already included a World Cup title and now an Asian Games record.