World Archery Championships: Gatha Khadake In The Prequarterfinals

Gatha Khadake, 15 year old, made it to the pre-quarterfinals in the recurve women’s individual event at the World Archery Championships in Gwangju, Korea, on Thursday (September 11, 2025).

Gatha took down Azerbaijan’s Fatima Huseynli with a score of 7-1. She easily defeated Azerbaijan’s Fatima Huseynli 7-1 (26-26, 27-25, 27-26, 28-24).

She crushed Great Britain’s Thea Rogers 6-0, and edged out Germany’s Katharina Bauer 6-4 , setting up a last-16 match against the third-ranked Korean Lim Siheyon.

Meanwhile, Olympians Deepika Kumari and Ankita Bhakat were eliminated in the third round.

Everyone’s attention is now on the round of 16 happening this Friday (September 12, 2025), where Gatha will take on the biggest challenge of her young career against the current Paris Olympic champion and world No. 1, Lim Si-hyeon.

The 22 year old Korean, who is on fire, took out Ankita Bhakat with a score of 6-2, hitting six perfect 10s over two sets.

For India, the young Gatha is their final hope.

It will be interesting to see if the newcomer from Pune can secure the country’s first medal in the recurve category since Den Bosch in 2019.

In this edition, India has achieved a historic men’s team gold and a mixed team silver, both in the compound category.

Deepika started off weakly with a 25 compared to Diananda’s 27, putting her behind 0-2. However, she bounced back in the second round with a 28, leveling the score at 2-2 as her opponent stumbled, but once again, she lost her consistency.

The Indonesian hit two 10s and a 9 in the third set, pushing Deepika into the red ring for a 27-29 loss, dropping her to 2-4.

Deepika’s top score was in the fourth set with a 29, but Diananda kept pace, matching her shot for shot to maintain a 5-3 lead.

In the final set, Deepika needed a win but stumbled with an 8, resulting in a 27-27 tie, which was enough for Diananda to advance 6-4.

For Deepika, it was yet another early exit from the Worlds – her sixth campaign without a medal.

If Deepika struggled, Gatha showed poise and accuracy, defying her youth.

This victory secured Gatha’s spot in the last-16, making her the only Indian recurve archer to advance that far.

The Maharashtra teenager, who made her senior debut at the Madrid World Cup in July, had already demonstrated her potential by reaching the pre-quarters there.

Earlier this year, she surprised everyone at the national trials by scoring 686 in qualification – the highest across all genders – before securing her place as India’s third recurve woman at the Worlds, following Deepika and Ankita.

The competition between the seasoned pro and the young talent has been brewing since the National Games in Uttarakhand, where they faced off in a nail-biting shoot-off semifinal.

However, based on their recent performances, it’s the young gun who is now seen as India’s best bet in the recurve category.

Result

Recurve: Individual:

Women: Ankita Bhakat defeated Elena Bendikova (Slo) 7-3 (1st round), defeated Rezza Octavia (Pol) 6-0 (2nd round), lost to Lim Siheyon (Kor) 2-6 (3rd round).

Gatha Khadake defeated Fatima Huseynli (Aze) 7-1 (1st round), defeated Thea Rogers (Gbr) 6-0 (2nd round), defeated Katharina Bauer (Ger) 6-4 (3rd round).

Deepika Kumari received byes (1st and 2nd rounds), lost to Diananda Choirunisa (Ina) 4-6 (3rd round).