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In a high-stakes showdown, 16-year-old Sharvari Shende secured a gold medal in the U-18 women’s recurve individual event at the 2025 World Youth Archery Championships in Winnipeg, Canada. On Sunday, August 24, her thrilling 6-5 victory over South Korea’s Kim Yewon in a nail-biting final capped a stellar campaign. She also secured a bronze medal at the U-18 women’s recurve team event, beating United States of America in a 6-0 match, alongside her teammates Gatha Khadake and Jiana Kumar in the podium finish match for Indian team.
Born in the city of Pune, Maharashtra, Sharvari Shende’s archery journey reportedly began in 2017 when she picked up the sport as a hobby in third class. It is claimed in various reports that now she has dedicated herself to full-day training. Her victory in the final match is a testament to that, Shende won the two of the first-three sets and drew the third, taking a 4-1 lead in the match. However, Kim won the next two sets to level the score at 5-5, forcing the match into a single-arrow shoot-off. Shende delivered a near-flawless 10, and bagged gold in a breathtaking finish.
Sharvari Shende defeats two South Korean archers in succession
Sharvari Shende, in the individual elimination rounds began with a bye in the round of 1/24, followed by a dominant 6-0 victory over Qatar’s Reem Khalid Y H Al-Saei. She continued her strong form, defeating Ukraine’s Yelyzaveta Semenova 6-4 in the round of 1/16, and then outclassed Indonesia’s Najwa Shafira Nurin and USA’s Ye-eun Whang, both by 7-3, in the pre-quarterfinals and quarterfinals, respectively. In the semifinal, a 7-3 victory, secured her spot in the final. The semifinal pitted Shende against another Korean, Kim Minjeong, Shende secured a 7-3 victory to earn her place in the final. Defeating two Korean archers in succession in itself is a rare feat given South Korea’s reported dominance in recurve archery.
India’s overall performance at the 2025 Championships was remarkable, with the nation securing four gold, two silver, and two bronze medals. With the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics on the horizon, her victory offers hope for India’s ambitions in recurve archery, a discipline where the country has yet to secure an Olympic medal. As the curtains close on the 2025 World Youth Archery Championships, Sharvari Shende’s name stands tall, not just as a champion but as a symbol of India’s rising tide in global archery.
