India women's recurve team beat South Korea 5-3 to win first Asian Games team gold
Kumkum Mohod, Ankita Bhakat and Kirti defeated 10-time Olympic champions South Korea in the final at the 2026 Asian Games.
The Indian women's archery team made history at the 2026 Asian Games. In the final of the recurve team event, India beat 10-time Olympic champions South Korea 5-3. It is India's first gold medal in the women's recurve team event at the Asian Games.
The trio of Kumkum Mohod, Ankita Bhakat and Kirti achieved the feat. The first two sets were tied. In the third set, India overpowered the South Korean team to take the lead, and eventually won gold.
Earlier, in the semifinal, the Indian women's team had beaten China 5-1. That win took them to the recurve gold medal final for the first time. In the final they faced South Korea, one of the strongest teams in the world. The challenge was not easy for India, but Kumkum, Kirti and Ankita gave the Korean team a tough fight in the first two sets.
The first set was thrilling, with both teams scoring 54. The Indian trio continued to play well in the second set, which ended level at 56-56. After two sets, both teams were tied.
The third set proved decisive for India. Kumkum, Kirti and Ankita put pressure on the South Korean team of world champion Kang Chae-young, Oh Ye-jin and Lee Eun-ji. Kirti began with an 8, which she later turned into a decisive 9. India won the third set 55-52 and took a 4-2 lead in the match.
In the fourth and final set, the Korean team had scored 54. India therefore needed at least a tie in this set to win gold. The Indian trio performed well under pressure, drew the fourth set and won the match 5-3.
South Korea has dominated this event for a long time. At the 1978 Games in Bangkok, Japan won gold, while South Korea and North Korea took silver and bronze respectively. Since then, from New Delhi in 1982 to Hangzhou in 2022, South Korea has won gold in this event several times.
India had earlier won bronze in the women's team recurve event at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games. Now, at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, after 48 years, the Indian trio of Kumkum, Ankita and Kirti beat South Korea to win the first gold medal in this event.
