Gold medal secured! Indian women archers defeated South Korea in the final

India’s Kumkum Anil Mohod, Ankita Bhakat and Kirti celebrate winning the gold medal (REUTERS) The Indian women’s archery team made history on Friday by defeating world champions South Korea 5-3 to win their first gold medal at the Asian Games.Ankita Bhakat, Kirti Sharma and Kumkum Mohod held their nerve in windy conditions to see off the 10-time Olympians in a tight final.Asian Games full coverage | Schedule | Medal totalThe opening two sets were close, with the teams sharing the points after both scoring 54 and 56 respectively.South Korea then faltered in the third set. The Korean trio of reigning world champion Kang Chaeyoung, Oh Yejin and Lee Yunji hit three consecutive eights to finish with 52 points.India capitalized on the opening and scored 55 points to take the set and advance.The fourth set went down to the wire. Korea managed 54 points while Kirti initially scored 8 in her opening shot. The score was later changed to 9, taking India’s total to 54.This leveled the score in the set and was enough to seal the gold medal for India.The Indian team had earlier secured their place in the final by defeating China 5-1 in the semi-final, putting them in contention for the Asian Games title for the first time.The Indian women’s recurve team won bronze at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou but went a step further in Friday’s final to clinch their first Asian Games gold.