Okazaki, September 30, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Sahil Rajesh Jadhav has already turned his attention towards the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics after a stellar Asian Games campaign in which he won two gold medals and helped India sweep all three compound archery titles.
The 25-year-old from Maharashtra’s Satara district won gold in both the mixed team and men’s team events on Wednesday. His performance also helped India secure an Olympic quota place in the mixed compound event for the Los Angeles Games.
Despite celebrating his second gold medal of the day, Sahil said there was little time to dwell on the achievement.
“I am happy that I won two Asian Games gold medals and made the country and my parents proud. But there is a lot more to achieve,” Sahil told SAI Media during a video call.
“I am happy that I was able to deliver my best performance today and also earned a quota for the next Olympics,” he added.
Sahil first partnered Chikitha Taniparthi to beat South Korea in a shoot-off and win the mixed team gold. He later joined Kushal Dalal and Ganesh Mani Ratnam Thirumuru in the men’s compound team final, where India edged China 238-237.
Earlier, Jyothi Surekha Vennam, Chikitha and Prithika Pradeep defeated China 238-234 in the women’s team final, completing India’s clean sweep of the three compound archery gold medals at the Games.
Sahil, who trains at the SAI National Centre of Excellence in Kolkata, said he had arrived in Japan confident of producing a strong performance after months of preparation.
“Every athlete aims to win the gold and put up his best performance. I was confident that I had the ability to win the gold. That is why I toiled hard during practice over the past several months. I knew I could produce something special,” he said.
Coach Haresh Kumar said the preparations included training in varied weather conditions at Shillaru in Himachal Pradesh and SAI Sonipat, followed by an acclimatisation camp in Japan.
“We have trained in all weather conditions. We trained at Shillaru in Himachal Pradesh, where we trained in cold and rainy conditions. Then we trained at SAI, Sonipat, where it was extremely hot,” Haresh said.
The archers reached Japan around 10-15 days before the Games and trained in windy conditions at Kurobe City.
Haresh praised Sahil for executing the strategies developed during training, saying the archer had converted months of hard work into two Asian Games gold medals.
FOLLOW NOW
