Saltillo [Mexico], September 14 (ANI): Indian recurve archer Dhiraj Bommadevara created history by winning the men's individual title at the Archery World Cup Final 2026 in Saltillo, Mexico, becoming the first Indian male archer to claim an individual crown at the season-ending event, according to Olympics.com.

The 25-year-old defeated Japan's Nakanishi Junya 6-5 in a thrilling gold medal match that went into a shoot-off. Dhiraj held his nerve under pressure, hitting a 10 in the deciding attempt to beat Nakanishi's nine and secure the biggest individual title of his career.

With this achievement, Dhiraj became only the second Indian archer to win an individual title at the Archery World Cup Final, following Dola Banerjee, who won the women's recurve title in Dubai in 2007.

Dhiraj, India's lone representative at the 2026 World Cup Final, produced a dominant run through the eight-player field. He began his campaign with a convincing 7-1 victory over Olympic medallist Berkim Tmer of Trkiye in the quarter-finals before defeating two-time Olympic silver medallist Jean-Charles Valladont of France 7-1 in the semi-finals.

The final against fourth-seeded Nakanishi was closely fought, with neither archer able to establish a clear advantage. The opening set ended level at 28-28, before Nakanishi won the second set 29-28. Dhiraj responded by taking the third set 29-28, but the Japanese archer regained the lead with a 30-28 fourth-set win.

Needing victory in the fifth set to force a shoot-off, Dhiraj delivered under pressure, winning 28-27 to level the match at 5-5 before sealing the title in the decider, according to Olympics.com.

Dhiraj's triumph completed an impressive season after he qualified for the World Cup Final by winning the men's individual recurve title at the third World Cup stage in Antalya. He also won the mixed team gold alongside Kumkum Mohod at the same event.

India finished the 2026 Archery World Cup season with seven medals across four stages in Puebla, Shanghai, Antalya and Madrid, including four gold medals. Dhiraj was the country's only individual gold medallist after his Antalya and World Cup Final successes.

The Indian archer had previously competed at the World Cup Final in 2023 and 2024 but returned without a medal on both occasions. His historic victory in Saltillo marked a breakthrough moment in Indian recurve archery. (ANI)