Teen Kumkum Mohod Leads India to First-Ever Asian Games Women's Recurve Team Gold

India's recurve archers produced one of the biggest upsets of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Friday, as Kumkum Mohod, Ankita Bhakat and Kirti Sharma beat South Korea 5-3 to win the women's team gold. It is the first time India has won any medal in the women's recurve team event at the Asian Games, and it came against the nation that has dominated the discipline for decades.

A few hours later, Kumkum was back on the field with Dhiraj Bommadevara in the mixed team final, where the pair went down 3-5 to China and took home silver.

An underdog trio against the favourites

On paper, the final looked lopsided. South Korea had three archers among the top four in the qualification round, while India's finalists had placed 10th, 20th and 25th. India had also never reached a women's recurve team final at the Games before this edition. They got there by beating China 5-1 in the semifinal earlier in the day.

The match itself was tight from the first arrow. The opening two sets were shared, with both teams scoring 54 in the first and 56 in the second, leaving the contest level at 2-2. In each of those sets, Kumkum's final arrow landed in the 10 ring to keep India level.

The set that turned it

The decisive swing came in the third set. India built a narrow lead after the first rotation, and South Korea then wobbled, with all three of their archers shooting 8s in the second rotation for a set total of 51. India needed just 24 from their last three arrows and finished on 55, taking the set and a 4-2 lead.

South Korea hit back strongly in the fourth set and opened a two-point cushion. Kirti and Ankita each shot a 9, which left Kumkum needing a perfect 10 to tie the set at 54 and seal the match. The 17-year-old from Maharashtra delivered, and the tied set gave India the single point they needed for a 5-3 win.

Across the final, Kumkum repeatedly produced 10s in pressure moments, while Ankita, the most experienced member of the side, helped steady the team through the tighter phases.

Mixed team falls just short

In the mixed event, Kumkum and Dhiraj had earlier rallied from 1-3 down to beat hosts Japan 5-3 in the semifinal. The final against China's Zhu Jingyi and Li Mengqi began badly, with India losing the first two sets 34-38 and 35-37 to trail 0-4.

The Indian pair fought back to take the third set 37-36 after Li managed only a 7 with China's final arrow. The fourth set went to the last shot: India posted 37, and Li's closing 10 brought China level on 37, tying the set and handing the Chinese pair a 5-3 win.

The loss carried an extra cost. The winner of the mixed team event earns one men's and one women's quota place for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, and that now goes to China.

Where India stands

The women's team gold was India's 11th gold of these Games. The mixed silver took the overall count to 68 medals, made up of 11 gold, 24 silver and 33 bronze, with India seventh on the medal table at last count.

For Indian archery, the day showed the recurve side catching up with the compound archers, who have collected most of the country's archery medals in recent years. India's men's recurve trio of Dhiraj, Neeraj Chauhan and Yashdeep Bhoge were also scheduled to compete in a team semifinal against Iran.

Kumkum finished the day with a gold and a silver at 17, making her one of the standout young performers of India's campaign in Japan.

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