Asian Games 2026: India beat South Korea to win maiden women's team recurve gold
Indian women’s recurve archers put up a brilliant show in the final at the Asian Games 2026.
South Korea had dominated the women’s team recurve event at the Asian Games, winning 10 of the 12 titles since the event’s introduction in 1978. Since 1998, they had never failed to win the title.
But Ankita Bhakat, Kirti Sharma and Kumkum Anil Mohod beat the favourites 5-3 to win India’s maiden gold in the women’s team recurve event at the Asian Games 2026. India had never reached this event’s final before, and had taken bronze twice, in 2010 and 2022, after semi-final losses.
The win lifted India past Bahrain into seventh place on the medal table. At the previous Asian Games, India finished fourth.
It was not easy. In the semi-final, India beat China 5-1, and a 51-51 tie in the third set gave them the single point that settled it.
The final was just as close. Korea began the first set with a seven, and Kirti also shot a seven with her fifth arrow, so India needed a ten with the last. It got one, and the set finished 54-54. The second set ended level again, 56-56, so both teams had a couple of points.
How was the gold won?
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The third set proved to be the turning point in the final. Korea, with reigning world champion Kang Chaeyoung, Oh Yejin and Lee Yunji shooting, started with an eight, a ten and a nine.
India answered with a 10, a 9 and a 9, and led by a single point at the halfway mark. Then Korea faltered, hitting three consecutive eights, finishing the set on 52. India shot 55 and took it, moving ahead 4-2.
A set win earns two points, while a tie gives a point to each side, meaning India needed only a tie in the fourth set to seal the victory. Kirti and Ankita each shot a nine. Kumkum needed a ten, and she hit it. One arrow was checked before the gold was confirmed.
The Indian trio
Ankita Bhakat, 28, was born in Kolkata and took up archery at 12. She joined the Tata Archery Academy in Jamshedpur in 2014. In 2017, she won junior mixed team gold at the World Youth Championships with Jemson Singh Ningthoujam, beating Russia 6-2.
She won a team medal at the 2022 Asian Games. At the Paris Olympics, she and Dhiraj Bommadevara lost the mixed-team bronze-medal match 2-6 to Germany.
Born in 2007, Kirti Sharma hails from Ritoli village in Haryana’s Jind district. She joined archery sessions in Class 8.
She finished fifth in the January trials, then topped the May trials ahead of Simranjit Kaur, Deepika Kumari and Bhakat. She made her World Cup debut in Antalya in June before reaching the mixed-team semi-finals in Madrid in July.
Kumkum Anil Mohod, 17, is from Maharashtra. She made her Asia Cup debut in Bangkok in 2025. In May, she won World Cup team gold in Shanghai with Bhakat and Deepika Kumari, beating South Korea and China. In June, she took mixed team gold in Antalya with Bommadevara.
Who won the women’s team recurve gold at the Asian Games 2026?
India won it. Ankita Bhakat, Kirti Sharma and Kumkum Anil Mohod beat South Korea 5-3 in the final in Nagoya. It is India’s first gold in the event, and the team had never reached this final before.
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