Bhutan’s recurve archery team delivered an encouraging performance at the World Archery Asia President’s Challenge Cup in Dhaka, Bangladesh, with Kinley Tshering winning the gold medal. The tournament, held alongside the World Archery Asia Joint Training Programme, provided valuable international competition and preparation for the team’s campaign at the 20th Asian Games Aichi–Nagoya 2026.
The World Archery Asia President’s Challenge Cup and Joint Training Programme brought together 66 athletes from 19 countries in Dhaka, Bangladesh, from 29th July, for five days.
Athletes competed in four categories: Recurve Under-18 Boys, Under-18 Girls, Recurve Men, and Recurve Women.
Bhutan’s Kinley Tshering emerged as the standout performer in the Recurve Men’s Division. Competing against 19 other archers from 11 countries, he topped the qualification round with an impressive score of 673 out of 720 points.
The 35-year-old archer from Paro carried his strong form into the elimination rounds and secured the gold medal for Bhutan.
He said, “Most of the top archers were from Bangladesh, so I gained a lot of experience competing against them. With the Asian Games coming up next month, this competition was also good preparation for me. This was my first time competing in this event, and I am very happy to have won the gold medal. I was able to achieve this because of the support I received from my coach and my team members.”
Kinley has been competing in recurve archery since 2013 and has represented Bhutan in several international competitions.
Bhutan also recorded other notable performances. Sonam Penjor achieved a new international personal best score of 659 out of 720 points and finished fourth in the qualification round.
Meanwhile, Lam Dorji, Tshering Dema, and Kezang Om gained valuable international exposure and competitive experience through both the tournament and the joint training programme.
According to the Bhutan Archery Federation, the training camp formed part of the team’s preparations for the 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026, which will be held in Japan from 19th September to 4th October this year.
Kinley’s gold-medal-winning performance provides a major boost to Bhutan’s preparations as the country’s recurve archers continue to raise their standards on the international stage.
With a gold medal, a personal best performance, and valuable international experience gained by the entire team, Bhutan’s recurve archers have returned from Dhaka with renewed confidence as they prepare for future international competitions.
Karma Wangdi
Edited by Phub Gyem
