Asian Games 2026: Kumkum Anil Mohod wins historic archery gold, secur…

Day 14 of the Asian Games 2026 is going on, since the beginning of this important day. The Indian contingents are showcasing an impressive performance, which is helping India to improve their medal tally in the crucial event.

India’s Kumkum Mohod created history by winning the gold medal in the individual recurve event at the Asian Games on Saturday. The 17-year-old became the first Indian woman to win an Asian Games medal in the individual recurve event. afnews.co.za

Kumkum beat South Korea’s Yejin Oh in a close final. The match was tied 5-5 after five sets, forcing a one-arrow shoot-off to decide the winner. Oh scored an 8 with her final arrow, while Kumkum hit a 10 to win the gold medal.

The victory also helped India earn an individual quota place for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics. Kumkum and Oh both secured one quota place for their countries.

Kumkum had a tough start in the final as Oh won the opening set 29-27 to take a 2-0 lead. The second set ended 29-29, leaving the South Korean ahead 3-1.

Kumkum then made a strong comeback in the third set. She hit three straight 10s to score a perfect 30, while Oh managed 29. This brought the match level at 3-3.

Oh moved ahead again by winning the fourth set 28-27, putting Kumkum under pressure at 5-3. With her opponent just one set away from gold, Kumkum produced another perfect 30 in the fifth set. Oh scored 28, sending the match into a shoot-off.

Kumkum stayed calm in the final one-arrow contest and hit a 10 to complete her comeback and win the gold medal.

Her gold medal came after a strong run in the individual event. Kumkum finished 10th in the ranking round before beating South Korea’s reigning world champion and Olympic team gold medallist Kang Chaeyoung in the quarter-final.

She then defeated China’s Jingyi Zhu 6-2 in the semi-final to become the first Indian woman to reach the Asian Games individual recurve final. Kumkum went one step further by winning the title and becoming the first Indian woman to win individual recurve gold at the Asian Games.

China’s Yuwei Huang won the bronze medal after beating her compatriot Jingyi Zhu 6-4 in the bronze-medal match.

Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar reckons the Shreyas Iyer-led Indian team will stick to its attacking batting template despite the tricky pitch conditions in Saturday’s Asian Games gold-medal clash against Pakistan.

“If you look at India’s last game [vs Sri Lanka], there were only two batters who fired — Vaibhav [Sooryavanshi] and Ishan [Kishan]. Both scored at [a strike rate of] 180 and 173 respectively. India will continue to bat that way and we might be disappointed with the way some batters get out. But you have to commit yourself to a template unless you’re chasing. Shreyas will mould his game slightly because this is not your typical T20 flat pitch. I don’t think they’re going to abandon their aggressive approach because of a tricky pitch,” Manjrekar told mid-day during an interaction organised by Sony Sports Network.

Manjrekar, who played 37 Tests and 74 ODIs, believes the final could come down to a battle between batters and spinners. “It’s going to be India’s ability to attack spin versus Pakistan’s ability to attack spin. I think it will come down to that. You would want to back India in that battle, especially with Ishan, who is in the form of his life,” he added.

Gonda (Uttar Pradesh) [India], October 3 (ANI): Former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh expressed confidence in India’s Asian Games campaign, saying more medals, including from wrestling, are still to come as the country looks to achieve its targeted tally.

“More medals are yet to come, medals from wrestling as well. India is on track to meet its target. Nations across the globe are striving for success… We are gradually moving forward and will certainly achieve the target we have set for ourselves," Brij Bhushan told ANI.

India made a strong start to the penultimate day of the Asian Games on Saturday, with 17-year-old Kumkum Mohod creating history by winning gold in the women’s individual recurve archery event.

Kumkum defeated South Korea’s Oh Yejin in a dramatic shoot-off after the final was tied 5-5, becoming the first Indian woman to win an individual recurve medal at the Asian Games.

Her gold came a day after she helped India secure its maiden Asian Games gold in the women’s recurve team event alongside Ankita Bhakat and Kirti Sharma. She also won silver in the mixed recurve team event with Dhiraj Bommadevara.

India entered Day 14 on the back of a six-gold haul on Friday, which lifted the country to fifth place in the medal standings with 76 medals, including 16 gold, 25 silver and 35 bronze.

The women’s hockey team defeated defending champions China 1-0 on Friday to win India’s first Asian Games gold in the sport since 1982 and also secure direct qualification for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

Indian boxing also enjoyed a highly successful campaign, with Lovlina Borgohain, Parveen Hooda and Ankush Panghal winning gold medals. Their victories took India’s boxing gold tally at the Games to three, while Priya Ghanghas, Kapil Pokhariya and Narender Berwal added bronze medals.

Wrestler Sujeet Kalkal also produced a remarkable comeback to win gold in the men’s 65kg freestyle category, overcoming a 2-9 deficit against Tajikistan’s Abdulmazhid Kudiev to seal a 10-9 victory in the final.

More wrestling medals remain in sight on Day 14, with Sagar Jaglan, Aman Sehrawat, Deepak Punia, Antim Panghal and Manisha Bhanwala among the Indian wrestlers in action.

India will also bid for gold in men’s cricket, with the team set to face arch-rivals Pakistan in the final, while the men’s hockey team will take on Malaysia in the gold medal match.

Recurve archers Dhiraj Bommadevara and Neeraj Chauhan will also be looking to add to India’s medal tally in the individual events as the Games enter their final stages. (ANI)

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