Ganesh Mani Ratnam wins team gold and individual bronze at Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games
Ganesh Mani Ratnam Thirumuru, a 20-year-old archer from Andhra Pradesh, helped India secure the men’s compound team gold at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on September 30 and added an individual bronze on October 1.
Born in Naidupeta near Nellore, Ganesh began with karate around 2015 before his first coach, Shivashankar, introduced him to archery in 2016; his father, Hari Prasad, a tollway supervisor, supported the switch. He first competed at the School Games in Manipur in 2017, was selected for a State-run sports scheme in Class VI and moved to Sanskruthi Global School in Parawada, Visakhapatnam. After meeting coach Kamal Kishore at the Chief Minister’s Cup in Rajamahendravaram he moved to Bhimavaram, completing Classes XI and XII at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan’s school there, and shifted to Sonipat in 2025 to train under Kamal Kishore. He is pursuing a BCA Data Science at SRM Institute of Science and Technology, which has provided him equipment and academic support.
In the men’s compound team final on September 30, Ganesh, Sahil Rajesh Jadhav and Kushal Dalal edged China 238-237 after a final-end comeback; India opened with a 58 and China replied with 60, 60 and 59. Before the last arrow he said, “Every time I shoot, it is about the process, only the process,” and added, “I tell myself to keep trusting my shooting and keep believing in myself.” He recalled the decisive moment: “On the last 10, China shot an eight, and we got a perfect 60.”
On October 1 he defeated Vietnam’s Cong Duc Dang 149-144 to claim the individual bronze, finding the 10-ring with 14 of his 15 arrows in the medal match. The two medals came on his debut at the Asian Games.
The Indian Olympic Association, the Sports Authority of India and the Archery Association of India organised a two-week camp before the Games that, according to the report, helped the squad adjust to wind, climate, food and sleep; a psychologist and a physiologist worked with the archers and Indian food was arranged. Describing his approach to competition he said, “I don’t implement anything new or do anything different for the competition,” and added, “I do the same things as in practice.”
Reflecting on his first Asian Games, he said, “This was my first Asian Games, so I have got a lot of information about what I should do,” and, competing against senior archers, he added, “has given me a lot of confidence.” He expressed thanks to the State Archery Association, the Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh, Olympic Gold Quest and his family.
Next on his schedule, the report states, are the Asia Cups and then the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028, where compound archery makes its debut; an Olympic medal in the archery event is his final goal, he said.