Limerick 2023: Indian team collects most medals at world youth champs

Indian archers collected 11 total podium finishes, the most of any nation, at the 2023 World Youth Archery Championships, which ended on Sunday in the Irish city of Limerick.

Buoyed by a dominant compound finals day – including Aditi Swami (compound under-18 women) and Priyansh (compound under-21 men) winning individual world titles – but supplemented by an event-closing victory from Parth Sushant Salunkhe in the recurve under-21 men’s category, it is the second edition of this event in a row that India has led the medal count.

This time, though, Korea was back. (Archery’s leading nation skipped the event in 2021.) Four of the six recurve team titles went to the squad in white, as well as both women’s crowns – to Oh Yejin and Yun Soohee – but that was where the results stopped.

The match of the tournament came courtesy Roman Sergejevs, who upset Korean under-18 man Choi Chuljun to secure Latvia’s first-ever world archery champion title.

That wasn’t the only history written by the 500-plus athletes competing during the windy and rainy competition week. Israel also collected its first-ever medal at a world championship when Shamai Yamrom and Romi Maymon collect compound under-21 mixed team silver, and Lithuania also took a first-ever podium with 15-year-old Jonas Grigaravicius ending as runner-up in the compound under-18 men’s event.

Archers from Korea, India and the USA collected 31 of the 60 available medals in Limerick.

All the podium finishers received World Archery’s brand-new championship medal designs created by the French Mint. 

Key takeaways

First for Casey. The USA’s Casey Kaufhold pipped European Games Champion Penny Healey to the top of recurve under-21 women’s qualifying. It’s her first career international pole – but likely not the ‘first’ she wanted in Limerick because this was the 19-year-old’s last world youth championships. She was ultimately eliminated with 16 arrows remaining in matchplay

The Irish climate. Every single post-match interview in Limerick included the words ‘rain’ and ‘wind’. But the weather drama peaked during the last day of competition when the finalists in the recurve under-18 women’s event were evacuated from the arena after one arrow of the second set (a 10 from Zhu Jingyi). When they returned to the field, they were given an unusual 90-second practice end.

French promise. Top seeds Baptiste Addis, Jules Pedoux and Alexis Renaudineau beat second seeds Choi Wooseok, Choi Chuljun and Ji Yechan to win the recurve under-18 men’s team world title and snap a Korean sweep of the recurve team events in Limerick. The Korean teams collected the other three team gold medals – under-21 men, under-21 women and under-18 women – decided on that Friday.

A first for Latvia. Romans Sergejevs seeded just 29th for Latvia but upset number one seed Addis in a shoot-off in the semifinal and then Choi Chuljun, 6-4, for Latvia’s first-ever world championship title. And he did it in style. In the recurve under-18 men’s gold medal match, the 16-year-old shot two 30-point perfect sets – in the second and then to shut out Choi in the fifth.

Champions: 2023 World Archery Youth Championships

See full results online.

These are the new under-21 world champions:

• Recurve men: Parth Sushant Salunkhe, India
• Recurve women: Oh Yejin, Korea
• Compound men: Priyansh, India
• Compound women: Sydney Sullenberger, USA
• Recurve men team: Korea
• Recurve women team: Korea
• Recurve mixed team: Korea
• Compound men team: Denmark
• Compound women team: India
• Compound mixed team: India

These are the new under-18 world champions:

• Recurve men: Romans Sergejevs, Latvia
• Recurve women: Yun Soohee, Korea
• Compound men: Dewey Hathaway, USA
• Compound women: Aditi Gopichand Swami, India
• Recurve men team: France
• Recurve women team: Korea
• Recurve mixed team: Japan
• Compound men team: Mexico
• Compound women team: India
• Compound mixed team: USA

Medal table: 2023 World Archery Youth Championships

Countries with at least one gold medal listed.

1.  Korea: 10 (6 gold, 4 silver)
2.  India: 11 (6 gold, 1 silver, 4 bronze)
3.  USA: 10 (3 gold, 3 silver, 4 bronze)
4.  France: 3 (1 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze)
4.  Mexico: 3 (1 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze)
6.  Denmark: 2 (1 gold, 1 bronze)
6.  Japan: 2 (1 gold, 1 bronze)
8.  Latvia: 1 (1 gold)

Athletes representing 16 countries collected the 60 medals across 20 events awarded at the 18th World Archery Youth Championships. A total of 518 archers (277 men, 241 women) from 58 countries competed in the event held at the University of Limerick, Ireland on 3-9 July 2023.