Asian Games 2026: Kumkum Mohod, Dhiraj Bommadevara win silver in mixed recurve team

Indian Kumkum by Anil Mohod and Dhiraj Bommadevara. (Photo by Reuters) NEW DELHI: Kumkum Mohod and Dhiraj Bommadevara sealed a silver medal in the recurve mixed team event after China’s Jingyi Zhu and Mengqi Li won 5-3 in a tight battle for gold at the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya on Friday.The Indian pair had to settle for silver after fighting back from a 0-4 deficit to briefly threaten to take the match to a shootout. Their medal was India’s sixth in archery at the Games, taking their tally to four gold, one silver and one bronze.China got off to a better start with Dhiraj opening with 8 before Kumkum followed with 7. India managed 34 points in the opening set while Zhu and Li combined for 38 to claim the first two match points.India then found themselves in a deeper hole in the second set. Kumkum and Dhiraj managed just 35 as China posted 37 to win the set and advance 4-0.Asian Games full coverage | Medal Tally | Schedule

India are struggling from 0-4

With China needing just one more set to claim the gold, India developed a decisive response.Kumkum opened the third set with 8 but responded with a decisive 10 at the second attempt. Dhiraj helped India to 37 as China finished on 36. Li’s last arrow was a 7 which left the door open for India.The result gave India a set, crucially they stayed alive in the match at 2-4.Kumkum and Dhiraj then produced one of their best strokes of the final in the fourth set. Kumkum started with 9 and Dhiraj followed with another 9 to give India 18 points from the opening two darts.Kumkum then played 10 before Dhiraj added 9 to take India to 37. However, China held their nerve and Zhu and Li leveled India’s scores with 10 on their final arrow to level the set at 37-37.This was enough for China to secure the one point needed for gold, leaving India with silver.

A dramatic semi-final comeback against Japan

Kumkum and Dhiraj had earlier staged a brilliant comeback by defeating Japan’s Nanami Asakuno and Junya Nakanishi 5-3 in the semi-finals.India were trailing 0-2 after losing the opening set 37-38. The second set ended 36-36, giving Japan a 3-1 lead, but the Indian pair responded strongly under pressure.In the third set, they shot 39 to the Japanese’s 35 and tied the match at 3:3. The fourth set then went down to the last arrow, Nakanishi shot 7 to finish on 35. India posted 37 to claim the set and complete a 5-3 victory.The silver added to a highly productive archery campaign for India in Aichi-Nagoya.Earlier on Friday, the Indian women’s recurve team scripted a landmark triumph by defeating 10-time Olympic champions South Korea 5-3 to claim the country’s first Asian Games gold.Ankita Bhakat, Kirti Sharma and 17-year-old Kumkum held their nerve in tough windy conditions to see off the defending champions. India also defeated China 5-1 in the semi-finals.The women’s recurve gold was India’s fourth archery gold of the Games after wins in the men’s, women’s and mixed team events.

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