Kumkum Mohod wins historic recurve individual gold at Asian Games 2026; secures LA Olympics 2028 quota
Kumkum Mohod beat South Korea’s Oh Yejin 6-5 in a shoot-off.
Kumkum Mohod is 17, and she has just done something no Indian woman has done before. In the women’s individual recurve final at the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya, she held her nerve against South Korea’s Oh Yejin and won on a single arrow.
The match started badly. Oh took the opening set 29-27, and Mohod trailed 0-2. She responded in the second set, matching Oh’s 29 to remain 1-3 down. Then came her best shooting of the day. A 30 in the third set, against Oh’s 29, levelled the match at 3-3.
The fourth set went to Oh. Mohod shot an eight and lost 27-28, putting her 3-5 behind. One more set loss would have ended her campaign. Instead, she shot 30 to Oh’s 28 in the fifth set and dragged the final to 5-5.
That sent the gold medal to a shoot-off, a single arrow each. Oh managed an 8. Mohod hit a 10.
RELATED: Asian Games 2026 – India’s medal tally after Day 13, 2nd October
India had never won gold in the women’s individual recurve event at the Asian Games, making this a first for the country. It was also India’s fifth archery gold of these Games, while the victory secured an individual quota for the nation at the LA Olympics 2028.
A memorable debut Games with three medals
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Kumkum finished the tournament with 2 golds and 1 silver. She won team gold in the recurve event on October 2 alongside Ankita Bhakat and Kirti Sharma. Her mixed team silver was India’s first silver in archery at this edition.
Born on 10 March 2009 in Maharashtra, she made her major international debut at the 2025 Asia Cup in Bangkok. This year she won World Cup team gold in Shanghai in May, beating China in the final.
A month later, she took mixed team gold in Antalya, beating South Korea. Her highest world ranking is 50, and her personal best score is 671.
Who won the women’s individual recurve gold at the Asian Games 2026?
Kumkum Mohod of India won the gold medal. She beat South Korea’s Oh Yejin 6-5 in a shoot-off in the final on 3rd October, becoming the first Indian woman to win this title.
How many medals did Kumkum Mohod win at the Asian Games 2026?
She won three medals: two golds (women’s team recurve and women’s individual recurve) and one silver (mixed team recurve).
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