Suad Al-Bahar, Reem Al-Naqib and Noor Al-Sharhan secured the women’s team title in Fujairah, contributing to a medal-winning day across Kuwait’s recurve and compound squads.
Kuwait’s women archers won team gold at the third West Asian Archery Championships in Fujairah on 20 October, as the national squad collected three gold medals, one silver and one bronze.
Suad Al-Bahar, Reem Al-Naqib and Noor Al-Sharhan took the women’s Olympic bow team title, according to a KUNA report carried by Kuwait Times. Their victory was accompanied by golds in the men’s compound team and mixed compound events.
Gold across three events
Abdullah Malallah, Ahmed Al-Shatti and Bader Al-Shallahi won the men’s compound team gold. Malallah also partnered with Hanan Al-Mayas to take the mixed compound title.
In recurve competition, Ali Al-Zaid and Reem Al-Naqib earned mixed-team bronze. Al-Zaid, Saad Al-Baloud and Abdulaziz Bushahri added silver in the men’s team event.
Team official Omar Al-Shatti credited the athletes’ performances and the Kuwait Shooting Club’s support for their preparation. The championship brought together 72 competitors from seven national teams.
Two disciplines, different demands
The results span archery’s two principal international target disciplines: recurve, described as Olympic bow in the tournament report, and compound.
For readers more familiar with Olympic coverage, recurve is the established format. World Archery’s guide to international competition explains that outdoor recurve contests take place at 70 metres, while compound events use a 50-metre distance.
The equipment and scoring systems also differ. Recurve matches use sets, with points awarded for winning or drawing each set. Compound matches use cumulative arrow scores. Compound bows incorporate cables and pulleys, and competitors use mechanical release aids and magnified sights.
Those distinctions give context to Kuwait’s results. The women’s team title, men’s team medals and mixed-event podium finishes came across separate formats, rather than a single discipline.
Mixed archery gains an Olympic platform
The mixed compound gold comes as that event prepares for its Olympic debut. World Archery has confirmed that compound mixed team will join the programme at Los Angeles 2028, alongside the five existing recurve medal events.
That change gives male-female compound partnerships an Olympic competition for the first time. Recurve women will continue to compete for individual, team and mixed-team medals.
Qualification remains a separate challenge. Under the published LA28 qualification system, 12 compound mixed teams will compete, while the recurve team fields will comprise eight nations per gender. Places are allocated through designated competitions and other specified routes, with athletes also required to meet minimum scores.
The Fujairah results establish regional medal success; they do not establish Olympic qualification. For Kuwait, the immediate follow-up lies in the championship’s individual events: the 20 October report listed Malallah and Al-Mayas for the men’s and women’s compound finals on 21 October.
