"17-year-old girl defeats members of Korea's archery dynasty one by one"... As Kang Chae-young and Oh Ye-jin fell, India erupted in excitement: "She accomplished what no one else could" [Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games]

*This content was translated by AI.

Korea lost to India again. Oh Ye-jin of the South Korean women's recurve archery team (Gwangju Bank) secured a disappointing silver medal in the individual event at the Asian Games.

Meanwhile, India could not hide its excitement as "17-year-old prodigy" Kumkum Anil Mohod once again defeated a South Korean athlete.

The Indian Express reported on the 3rd that "Mohod, competing in her first Asian Games at age 17, dismantled Korea's dynasty one by one."

It further praised her, stating, "At 17, she accomplished what archers from multiple generations of India had failed to achieve."

On the day, Oh Ye-jin lost to Mohod in a shoot-off with a score of 8-10 after tying at 5-5 in set points in the final of the women's recurve individual event at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, held at the Multi-Purpose Plaza of Okazaki Central General Park in Aichi Prefecture, Japan.

Oh Ye-jin, who had won a silver medal in the women's team event the previous day alongside Kang Chae-young and Lee Yun-ji (both from Hyundai Mobis), challenged for the individual gold medal but once again hung a silver around her neck.

Oh Ye-jin concluded her first Asian Games with two silver medals.

The early flow of the final favored Oh Ye-jin. She took the first set 29-27. Mohod shot an 8 on her last arrow, allowing Oh Ye-jin to take the lead.

The second set ended in a tie. The two athletes split the set points one each, giving Oh Ye-jin a 3-1 lead.

However, Mohod chased fiercely. In the third set, Mohod hit all three arrows at 10 points, recording a perfect score of 30 to reset the match to 3-3 in set points.

Oh Ye-jin took the fourth set again to lead 5-3. She was just one set point away from the gold medal.

Yet Mohod's counterattack was sharp. She recorded another perfect score of 30 in the fifth set, tying the match at 5-5, and the contest ultimately headed to a shoot-off decided by a single arrow.

Oh Ye-jin's final arrow stuck at 8 points. In contrast, Mohod shot a 10.

In the end, Oh Ye-jin had to settle for the silver medal.

Mohod received significant attention for creating a massive upset at this tournament. This was not the first time she had defeated a South Korean athlete.

Previously, Mohod had also beaten veteran Kang Chae-young of the South Korean women's archery team in the quarterfinals.

The Indian Express introduced Kang Chae-young as an athlete who has stood atop the Olympics and World Championships, holding the nickname "The Destroyer."

Nevertheless, it highlighted that "the 17th-year-old rookie Mohod dismantled 'The Destroyer.'"

Coincidentally, Mohod was also an athlete who had admired Kang Chae-young during her childhood.

It is said she marveled at watching Kang Chae-young, who had reached the pinnacle of the Olympics and World Championships, release the bowstring with precise movements.

However, at this tournament, she directly defeated the athlete she had admired.

Mohod stated, "I imagined the scene of competing against Kang Chae-young in advance," adding, "Before the shoot-off, I even imagined hitting the exact center of the target. And that is exactly what happened."

Mohod continued her momentum by defeating China's Zhu Jingyi, the silver medalist at the 2025 World Championships, 6-2 in the semifinals.

And in the final, she overcame another South Korean athlete, Oh Ye-jin.

The Indian Express explained, "By the time Mohod was born in 2009, Korea had already dominated women's recurve archery for nearly 20 years."

It further noted, "Even in 2018, when Mohod first picked up a wooden bow, Korea was on a six-peat streak in the Asian Games women's team event, and the national team was filled with Olympic champions."

It then evaluated, "But at her first Asian Games, the 17th-year-old Mohod knocked down South Korean athletes one by one, bringing down that dynasty."

Mohod won two gold medals and one silver medal at her first Asian Games.

The Indian Express reported, "Considering she is still only 17, all of this is almost unbelievable," adding, "She won two gold medals and one silver medal at her first Asian Games, defeating Korea three times in the process."

On the other hand, the result is shocking from South Korea's perspective.

With Oh Ye-jin finishing the individual event with a silver medal, the South Korean women's recurve team failed to win an individual gold medal at two consecutive Asian Games. Kang Chae-young, who also competed, was eliminated early in the quarterfinals.

Even more painful is that the South Korean women's recurve team finished the tournament without a single gold medal for the first time in Asian Games history.

Archery became an official Asian Games event starting with the 1978 Bangkok Games.

Since then, whenever South Korea's women's recurve team missed the gold in the team event, they won it in the individual; and when they failed to win the individual, they topped the team event, never recording a "no-gold" result.

However, this tournament was different. After ceding the gold medal in the women's team event to India, they could not stop the 17th-year-old Mohod's surge in the individual events either. The mixed team event, featuring Kang Chae-young and Kim Je-deok (Yecheon County Office), also settled for a bronze medal.

South Korea, which had dominated Asian women's recurve archery for decades, ultimately failed to hit the golden target at this tournament.

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*This content was translated by AI.