Seventeen-year-old Kumkum Mohod created history on Saturday by becoming the first Indian woman to win an Asian Games medal in the individual recurve event, beating South Korea’s Yejin Oh in a tense shoot-off to claim the gold medal.
Kumkum prevailed 6-5 after the final was tied at 5-5 following five sets. In the one-arrow shoot-off, Oh shot an 8 before Kumkum responded with a 10 to seal the title.
The victory also secured an individual quota place for India at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games, with Kumkum and Oh earning one quota place each for their respective countries.
Kumkum had to recover from an early deficit in the final. Oh won the opening set 29-27 to take a 2-0 lead, while the second set ended 29-29, leaving the South Korean ahead 3-1.
The Indian teenager responded strongly in the third set, shooting three successive 10s for a perfect 30. Oh scored 29, allowing Kumkum to level the contest at 3-3.
Oh regained the lead in the fourth set, winning 28-27 to move within one set point of the title at 5-3.
Facing elimination, Kumkum produced another composed performance in the fifth set. She opened with a 10 and followed it with two more 10s to finish with a perfect 30, while Oh managed 28 to force a shoot-off.
Kumkum then held her nerve in the one-arrow decider, shooting a 10 to complete the comeback and secure the gold.
The victory capped a remarkable individual campaign for the Indian archer. She had qualified 10th in the ranking round before defeating South Korea’s reigning world champion and Olympic team gold medallist Kang Chaeyoung in the quarterfinals.
She then defeated China’s Jingyi Zhu 6-2 in the semifinals. Zhu had won a silver medal at the 2025 World Championships.
Kumkum had thereby become the first Indian woman to reach the Asian Games individual recurve final and went on to claim the title.
China’s Yuwei Huang won the bronze medal after defeating compatriot Jingyi Zhu 6-4 in the bronze-medal match.
(IANS Inputs)
