Atanu Das guaranteed himself a medal upon his return to international archery as India reached the recurve men’s team gold medal match for Central Florida 2025.
The Swiss Open bronze medallist missed the entire 2024 season after failing to qualify through India’s national trials. s Now 33, Das’s return is more than welcome.
“It feels good to be back again,” said Das after he, Dhiraj Bommadevara and Tarundeep Rai defeated Spain in the semifinals. “Last year was not so good for me in archery, but otherwise in life it was quite well. In archery it was tough for me a little bit, and I was craving to get back into the team, win medals for India, win medals for myself and improve.”
“I feel like I’m a better person now.”
The Indian recurve team arrived to the Lake Myrtle Sports Complex for qualifications just one hour after landing in the USA yesterday, making it far from an idyllic start to the first Hyundai Archery World Cup stage of 2025.
But with a full day to settle, Das, Bommadevara and Rai made their recharged energy count as they swept past Brazil, Indonesia and Spain all 6-2 in the recurve set system to reach a final against China, the Antalya 2024 bronze medallists. The Chinese women also qualified for Sunday’s finals.
“When I started the ranking round, it was a little bit shaky for me because it’s been a while. One year out is a little long, because I didn’t play any outdoor tournaments last year,” added Das.
“I did well. Sometimes you shoot good and an arrow that doesn’t hit the expected distance but it’s archery. I’m having fun.”
