Bangladesh’s hopes of securing a medal at the 24th Asian Archery Championships came to an end on Monday after the women’s compound team suffered a narrow 227-224 defeat to Iran in the bronze medal match at the National Stadium in Dhaka.
The trio of Bonna Akter, Kulsum Akther Mone, and Puspita Zaman represented Bangladesh in the tense playoff. Although they entered the day on a high after a strong elimination round, the afternoon brought disappointment as their rhythm slipped in a tight four-set contest that ended 54–56, 58–56, 57–57, 55–58 in Iran’s favour.
Bangladesh had earlier produced an impressive performance to beat Kazakhstan 230–226 in the elimination round, before falling 234–227 to India in the semi-final. The narrow loss to Iran meant Bangladesh missed out on what would have been a valuable home medal.
After the match, senior archer Bonna Akter reflected on the missed opportunity with a sense of responsibility.
“Our start was a bit shaky. If we could have started better, maybe we could have won the match,” she said. “As a senior player, I feel responsible to support my teammates and help them stay calm under pressure. We reached the final in this event before, but this time we fell short. We’ll try to learn from our mistakes and come back stronger.”
The result handed Iran their first medal of the tournament, while India and South Korea will face off for gold in Thursday’s final at the Army Stadium.
Elsewhere, in the recurve men’s team event, Bangladesh also saw their medal ambitions halted after a strong early showing. The team of Sagar Islam, Rakib Mia, and Ram Krishna Saha began confidently, sweeping past Vietnam 6–0 with scores of 55–52, 53–52, and 56–52. However, they could not carry that momentum into the next round, losing 5–3 to powerhouse South Korea after a spirited contest.
Reflecting on the loss, Sagar Islam remained upbeat about the team’s performance.
“We started well and gave our best,” he said. “South Korea are a very strong team, we lost by just two points in the end. We played well, but we’ll keep working to improve.”
In the bronze medal match of the same event, Uzbekistan claimed their first medal of the tournament with a 5-3 win over Kazakhstan, while South Korea and India will meet in the gold medal final on Friday at the Army Stadium.
Though Bangladesh missed out on medals, both teams showed signs of progress against stronger, more experienced opponents. The performances reflected a growing consistency in Bangladesh’s archery scene, a positive signal ahead of future continental tournaments.
