India’s Ganesh Mani Ratnam Thirumuru secured a bronze medal in the men’s individual compound archery event at the 2026 Asian Games, defeating Vietnam’s Cong Duc Dang 149-144 at the Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Multipurpose Square on Thursday.
The 20-year-old’s composed performance earned India its first individual medal in compound archery at the ongoing Games. The bronze was also Ganesh’s second medal in Aichi-Nagoya, after he helped India win gold in the men’s compound archery team event on Wednesday.
Mani Ratnam Thirumuru
Ganesh remained remarkably consistent throughout the bronze-medal contest, hitting the 10-ring on all but one occasion. He narrowly missed matching the Asian record held by fellow Indian archer Ojas Deotale.
Hard-fought road to the podium
Ganesh’s route to the bronze medal featured a series of closely contested elimination-round victories. The archery competitions at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games began on September 26 and are scheduled to conclude on October 3.
In the Round of 16 on September 28, Ganesh edged past compatriot Sahil Jadhav 149-148 to book his place in the quarter-finals. He continued his impressive campaign on October 1, overcoming Chinese Taipei’s Chen Chieh-lun 148-138 in the quarter-final to secure a place in the last four.
However, his bid for a place in the gold-medal contest ended in the semi-final. Ganesh fought hard against South Korea’s Kim Jongho but eventually went down 144-148.
The defeat did little to derail his campaign. He regrouped for the bronze-medal match and produced a controlled display against Cong Duc Dang, winning 149-144 to secure his place on the podium.
From junior champion to Asian Games medallist
Ganesh’s latest achievement adds another significant milestone to an already impressive young career.
The archer, who hails from Naidupeta, a municipal town in Andhra Pradesh’s Tirupati district, represented India at the 2023 World Youth Championships in Ireland. He won a silver medal in the men’s Under-18 team event at the championships.
Archer Mani Ratnam Thirumuru taking aim at his target
His progress continued in 2024, when Ganesh became the Junior Asian Champion and made his debut for India’s senior national team. A year later, he claimed the Junior World Championship title in Canada, further establishing himself as one of India’s promising young compound archers.
His bronze medal in the men’s individual compound event at the 2026 Asian Games now marks another major step in his rise on the international stage, while his team gold and individual bronze have given him two medals from his campaign in Aichi-Nagoya.