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Indian archer Kumkum Mohod continued her remarkable run at the Asian Games 2026 as she defeated China's Zhu Jingyi 6-2 to reach the women's individual recurve archery final on Saturday, putting herself within one win of creating history.
The 17-year-old had earlier stunned South Korea's world and Olympic champion Kang Chaeyoung 6-4 in the quarterfinals before producing another composed performance against Zhu, the world championship silver medallist, according to ESPN. Kumkum started the semifinal strongly, winning the opening set 28-27 to take a 2-0 lead. The second set ended 30-30 as both archers produced perfect scores, leaving the Indian ahead 3-1. The third set was also shared after Zhu scored 29 and Kumkum 28, with the Indian retaining a 4-2 advantage. With a place in the final at stake, Kumkum held her nerve in the fourth set. After both archers opened with 9s, they followed it with 10s. Zhu then managed a 9, leaving Kumkum needing a 10 with her final arrow to seal the contest. The teenager delivered yet again, hitting the 10-ring under pressure to win the semifinal 6-2 and book her place in the gold medal match. Kumkum will face South Korea's Yejin Oh in the final at 7:20 AM IST on Saturday. A victory would make Kumkum the first Indian woman to win an individual recurve medal at the Asian Games. India's only previous individual recurve medal at the continental event came through Tarundeep Rai, who won silver at the 2010 Guangzhou Games. Kumkum has already enjoyed a memorable campaign in Aichi-Nagoya. On Friday, she helped India win their first-ever Asian Games gold in the women's recurve team event, joining Ankita Bhakat and Kirti Sharma in a 5-3 victory over South Korea. She later partnered Dhiraj Bommadevara to win silver in the mixed recurve team event, with India losing 3-5 to China in the final. Kumkum's victory over Zhu also means she has defeated the two finalists from the previous World Championships in successive rounds, having beaten Kang in the quarterfinals before overcoming Zhu in the semifinal. The Indian teenager now has a chance to add an individual gold to the team gold and mixed team silver she has already secured at the Games. (ANI)
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