– by Pratyusha Mukherjee, Aichi-Nagoya, Japan
Hazaribagh archer Kirti Sharma recounts tense final after ending South Korea’s 44-year reign.India’s women’s recurve archers produced a historic performance at the Asian Games 2026, defeating powerhouse South Korea 5-3 in a tense final on Friday to win the gold medal and end the Koreans’ 44-year domination of the event.
The Indian trio of Kirti Sharma, Ankita Bhakat and Kumkum Mohod kept their composure under intense pressure to overcome one of the most formidable teams in Asian archery.
The Indian team had earlier stunned China 5-1 in the semifinal to set up the much-anticipated clash against South Korea.
The victory capped a memorable day for Indian archery, with the country’s compound archers having already swept the men’s, women’s and mixed team gold medals at the Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park.
Archery has traditionally been dominated by Korean and Chinese competitors, renowned for their composure and efficiency in high-pressure situations. But India overturned that established order with a determined display in the women’s recurve team event.
For Kirti, who trains under coach Udham Singh at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) training centre in Hazaribagh, mental strength and trust among the three archers proved decisive in the final.
“We were not thinking about our opponents. We were just focused on our own performance and following the process we went through during training,” Kirti told in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.
“All three of us had to control our emotions and believe in each other. We didn’t think about the results and just gave our 100 percent,” she added.
The Haryana archer said she drew on her fighting spirit to negotiate the pressure of a final against a team with such a formidable record.
“We knew that our opponents can take the game away if we commit even a small mistake. But we stood strong and maintained the same intensity from the first arrow that we fired to the last one,” Kirti said.
India’s success in the compound events also gave the recurve team an added boost before their crucial knockout matches against China and South Korea.
“Our confidence took a big boost after the compound events. The day we won three consecutive gold medals was a lucky day for India. It motivated us a lot. We wanted to emulate their feat,” Kirti said.
“We were raring to go and could hardly wait for our event to start.”
For Kirti and her teammates, the 5-3 victory over South Korea not only delivered a coveted Asian Games gold but also marked a landmark moment for Indian women’s recurve archery on the continental stage.
(Inputs from SAI)
