Indian archer Kumkum Mohod won a historic gold medal at Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya on Saturday, beating South Korea's Oh Yejin in the women's individual recurve final. Kumkum won the match with a scoreline of 6-5 after the contest went into a shootout.
After five sets, the scores were 27-29, 29-29, 30-29, 27-28, 30-28. Mohod won the shootout with a scoreline of 10-8.
Mohod is a 17-year-old Indian archer who created history at Asian Games 2026 on Saturday, as she became the first-ever Indian to win gold in the women's individual recurve archery event at the Asian Games.
Her gold medal feat also helped her secure a spot in the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028. Yejin, her opponent, also secured a place in the Los Angeles Olympics as both the finalists are awarded quotas for the Games.
Mohod, who is a Target Asian Games Group (TAGG) athlete, finishes her Asian Games 2026 campaign with three medals. Apart from the gold in the individual recurve event, she won gold in the women's team event and silver in the mixed team competition.
Mohod's journey in archery began in 2018 in Amravati, Maharashtra. Her mother, Rupali, encouraged her to try the sport after a relative's daughter began training at coach Prafull Dange's Radhey Archery Academy.
Dange quickly identified Mohod's potential. According to a report in The Indian Express, he was impressed by her upper-body strength, shoulder position and willingness to learn.
During the COVID-19 period, her training also included short-distance shooting, which helped her develop her technique and use of her back muscles.
Mohod's first bow was a wooden Indian bow that cost around Rs3,000. Her grandmother provided the money to buy it. Within six months of taking up archery, she won a silver medal at the sub-junior national championships.
Mohod's rise has also been accompanied by significant support from her family. Her father, Anil Manohar Mohod, makes cardboard boxes for sweet shops in Amravati.
The bow with which Mohod competed at the 2026 Archery World Cup in Shanghai was a second-hand bow that she had been using for around five years. It was the second second-hand bow she had used since beginning her archery career.
When she came under the Khelo India scheme, her father drove her to training on a motorcycle after the shared auto arrangement became too expensive when other children stopped travelling with her.
Mohod's senior international breakthrough came in 2026. At the Archery World Cup Stage 2 in Shanghai, she was part of India's women's recurve team that won gold.
She subsequently secured her place in India's Asian Games squad through the selection trials in Sonepat. Mohod finished among the top three women recurve archers in the trials, alongside Kirti Sharma and Ankita Bhakat.
Four-time Olympian Deepika Kumari finished fourth and missed the Asian Games team.
Her performances in the trials came after she had topped qualification and won six matches during the second stage of the selection process. She eventually finished second behind Kirti Sharma.
