Archery World Cup: Madhura Dhamangaonkar makes dream comeback after technique tweaks, bags three medals in Shanghai

Madhura Dhamangaonkar won three medals at the Archery World Cup Stage 2 in Shanghai on Saturday, the highlight being an individual gold to go with a silver in the women's team event and a bronze in the compound mixed team event alongside Abhishek Verma, to make it a remarkable return to international competition after three years.

- GNS News Agency, May 15

Madhura, 24, trailed USA’s Carson Krahe 81-85 before eventually winning 139-138.

In Amravati, Shailendra Dhamangaonkar, Madhura’s father was a proud man. Madhura’s younger sister Shalaka is a professional swimmer. “When both my daughters were young, the reason I put them into sports was to make them excel and win medals for India and bring glory to the country. As Madhura won three medals in the World Cup in Shanghai, seeing the Indian flag rise high was a special feeling for us amid the conflict," Dhamangaonkar told

Madhura enrolled at the Shree Hanuman Vyayam Prasark Mandal for archery coaching in 2011. She then trained with coach Ganesh Vishwakarma at a local school. Like most archers, Madhura started with a wooden bow and it was in 2012 that her father got her a new recurve bow.

“I knew archery can be an expensive sport, but then me and my wife Anjali have always done whatever we could for our daughters. I got Madhura her first recurve bow in 2012 and she trained in recurve till 2017. When she decided to shift to the compound, she herself told us to donate that bow to a needy person. I then arranged money from my relatives and friends to get her a new compound bow worth Rs 1,80,000,” the proud father recalled.