(Credit: Olympics.com)
Okazaki, October 3 (IANS) 17-year-old Kumkum Mohod became the first Indian woman to win an Asian Games medal of any sort in the individual recurve event after beating South Korea’s Yejin Oh in a shoot-off to claim the gold medal on Saturday.
The Indian teenager prevailed 6-5 after the final was tied at 5-5 following five sets. With the gold medal decided by a single arrow, Oh shot an 8 before Kumkum responded with a 10 to seal the title.
The victory also earned India an individual quota place for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games, with both Kumkum and Oh securing one quota each for their respective countries.
Kumkum had to fight back 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 responded strongly in the third set, producing three successive 10s for a perfect 30. Oh finished with 29, allowing Kumkum to reduce the deficit and level the match at 3-3.
Oh regained the advantage in the fourth set, winning it 28-27 to move within one set point of the title at 5-3.
Facing elimination, Kumkum produced another composed display in the fifth set. She opened with a 10 and followed it with two more 10s, finishing with a perfect 30. Oh managed 28, forcing the final into a shoot-off.
Kumkum then held her nerve in the one-arrow decider to complete the comeback and secure the gold.
Her victory caps a remarkable individual campaign at the Asian Games. She had qualified 10th in the ranking round before eliminating South Korea’s reigning world champion and Olympic team gold medallist Kang Chaeyoung in the quarterfinals.
She followed that with a 6-2 semifinal victory over China’s Jingyi Zhu, the silver medallist at the 2025 World Championships, to become the first Indian woman to reach the Asian Games individual recurve final.
Kumkum has now gone one step further, becoming the first Indian woman to win the Asian Games individual recurve title.
China’s Yuwei Huang won the bronze medal after defeating compatriot Jingyi Zhu 6-4 in the bronze-medal match.
