Bangladesh advanced to the gold medal match at the Asian Archery Championship after defeating South Korea in the compound mixed team event in Dhaka on Wednesday. The duo of Himu Basar and Bannya Akter produced an outstanding performance to secure Bangladesh’s place in the final, where they will face India’s Dipshikha and Abhishek Verma on Thursday.
Earlier in the day at the National Stadium, Bannya and Himu opened their campaign with a 154–148 win over Bhutan’s Dolma Dorji and Tandin Dorji in the first round. The quarter-final proved far more competitive, as Bangladesh tied 154–154 with Iran after four sets. In the shoot-off, Armin Pakzad and Fatemeh Bagheri edged the Bangladeshi pair 19–18.
Bangladesh bounced back strongly in the semi-final, where they stunned favourites South Korea’s Park Ye Rin and Kim Jong Ho. The Bangladeshi duo dominated throughout, winning every set to seal a 158–153 victory and confirm at least a silver medal for the hosts.
Elsewhere, in the recurve mixed event, Bangladesh’s Sima Akter Shimu and Ramkrishna Saha lost 5–1 to India in the quarter-final.
For Bangladesh, the result in the compound mixed team has offered a rare bright spot in an otherwise difficult campaign, as most individual archers have fallen short of the medal rounds.
