Korea's Archery Relegated to Second Place... Korean Women's Recurve Team Suffers First-Ever 'No Gold' Finish After Falling to India [Nagoya AG]

[Financial News] An alarm bell has sounded for South Korea's women's archery team, which had long ruled the sport like an absolute monarchy. The Korean women's recurve team, which had prided itself on being the world's strongest, has suffered the unprecedented setback of winning no gold medals at the Asian Games for the first time in history.
Oh Ye-jin, 23, of the Kwangju Bank TenTen Archery Team, faced India's 17-year-old rising star Kumkum Anil Mohod in the women's recurve individual final at the 2026 Asian Games on October 3. The match was held at the multipurpose field in Okazaki Central General Park, Aichi Prefecture. After a thrilling battle that ended with a 5-5 set score (29-27, 29-29, 29-30, 28-27, 28-30), Oh lost 8-10 in the decisive shoot-off and settled for the silver medal.
Oh Ye-jin had hoped to restore her honor in the individual event after India ended Korea's bid for an eighth consecutive title in the women's team final. However, she once again had to swallow a bitter defeat in the face of India's surging teenage sensation. As a result, the Republic of Korea's women's archery team was left with the shocking result of winning no gold medals in the recurve events at these Games.
The final was a breathtaking seesaw battle. Oh Ye-jin struck first. After opening the first set with a nine, she followed with consecutive arrows into the center of the 10-ring to win 29-27. In the second set, both archers scored 29, maintaining a tense balance as Oh moved ahead 3-1 in set points.

But the 17-year-old Indian newcomer showed extraordinary poise. In the third set, Mohod fired three consecutive 10s for a perfect 30, closing in on Oh, who scored 29, and tying the match at 3-3. Oh capitalized on her opponent's mistake to win the fourth set 28-27, moving within one point of the gold medal. Mohod, however, produced another perfect 30 in the fifth set and forced the match back to 5-5.
In the nail-biting shoot-off, where a single arrow would determine the color of the medal, Oh Ye-jin shot first. Her arrow veered agonizingly away from the center of the target and landed in the eight-ring. Mohod then stepped to the shooting line and calmly pierced the exact center for a 10, bringing the brutal contest to an end.
It is unprecedented for Korea's women's archery team to leave the Asian Games empty-handed. After losing the chance to win an eighth consecutive team title and surrendering the individual gold medal to a 17-year-old Indian archer, Korea's archery program now faces an urgent and sweeping overhaul amid the rapid leveling of Asian archery and India's formidable rise.
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