Maharashtra’s Kumkum Mohod creates history by winning India’s first-ever gold medal in the women’s recurve individual event
Nagoya : India’s 17-year-old Kumkum Anil Mohod created history at the Asian Games in Japan by winning a historic gold medal in the women’s recurve individual archery event. The teenage archer has emerged as one of India’s standout performers at these Asian Games, winning three medals.
The women’s recurve individual event was introduced in 1978, but no Indian woman archer had ever won a medal in this category. Maharashtra’s Amravati-born Kumkum changed that record by clinching the gold medal and turning Saturday into a golden day for India.
Before The Semifinals , Kumkum Anil Mohod Defeated World Championship Gold Medalist Kang Chae Young In The Quarterfinals . Beating A World Championship Gold Medalist & A Silver Medalist Back To Back Is No Joke 💥 #AsianGames2026 #Archery https://t.co/QVAFolCjIO
— Badminton Media (@BadmintonMedia1) October 3, 2026
On Friday, Kumkum, along with Ankita Bhakat and Kirti Sharma, won a historic gold medal for India in the recurve team event. She had also won a silver medal for the country in the mixed event alongside Dhiraj Bommadevara. With the individual gold, Kumkum completed a historic medal hat-trick.
Kumkum wins after 5-5 tie
In the women’s recurve individual event, Kumkum and South Korea’s Oh Ye-jin were tied 5-5 after five sets. A shoot-off was then held to decide the gold medal, with each archer getting one final arrow.
Against Ye-jin’s shot that landed on the 8-ring, Kumkum produced a perfect 10 with her final arrow. She won the thrilling final 6-5 to claim the historic gold medal.
Kumkum Mahod Age: 17 Performance at the 2026 Asian Games: Recurve Women’s Team 🥇 Recurve Women’s Individual 🥇 Recurve Mixed Team 🥈 Remember, Recurve Archery has never been a strong suit for India.. Kumkum Mahod is a revelation! 🥹🙏🇮🇳 https://t.co/sSoMvYLkwt
— Vishank Razdan (@VishankRazdan) October 3, 2026
Stadium echoes with ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’
As soon as Kumkum won the final, India-supporting spectators in the stands celebrated her victory with chants of ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ and ‘Vande Mataram’, filling the stadium with patriotic slogans.
Kumkum had already secured an Olympic quota place for India in this event at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics when she reached the recurve individual semifinals.
Defeated a world champion earlier
Before reaching the final, Kumkum defeated China’s Xu Jingyi 6-2 in the semifinal to make a historic entry into the gold-medal match.
She had created another major upset in the quarterfinals by defeating South Korea’s world and Olympic champion Kang Chae-young 6-4.
India fifth with 17 gold medals
In the Asian Games 2026 medal table, India had moved into fifth place on Friday with 16 gold medals and 76 medals overall. With Kumkum’s gold on Saturday, India reached 17 gold medals and 77 medals in total, retaining fifth place.
China leads with 162 gold medals
- China: 162 gold, 81 silver, 73 bronze — 316 total
- Japan: 72 gold, 83 silver, 85 bronze — 240 total
- South Korea: 33 gold, 39 silver, 62 bronze — 134 total
- Uzbekistan: 20 gold, 23 silver, 22 bronze — 65 total
- India: 17 gold, 25 silver, 35 bronze — 77 total
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