India continued its strong medal-winning run at the Asian Games in Aichi Nagoya, Japan, with athletes delivering an impressive performance on Day 14. India added 17 gold medals across boxing, wrestling and archery, showcasing strong performances across the sporting disciplines.
Teenager Kumkum Mohod won the gold medal in the women’s individual recurve event after defeating South Korea’s Oh Yejin in a dramatic shoot off. The final ended 5 to 5, but Kumkum held her nerve in the deciding round, shooting a perfect 10 while Oh scored 8.
Kumkum’s victory made her the first Indian woman to win an Asian Games medal in the individual recurve event. Earlier, she defeated China’s Jingyi Zhu 6 to 2 in the semifinal and secured a quota place for India for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. The quota belongs to the country, while Kumkum became the first Indian recurve archer to secure a medal in the women’s individual event.
In hockey, defending champions India will face Malaysia at the Gifu Prefectural Green Stadium, with the match carrying significance for the gold medal and a quota place for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
A day earlier, the Indian women’s hockey team won the gold medal after defeating defending champions China 1 to 0 in a closely contested final. Lalremsiami Hmarzote scored the only goal of the match, while goalkeeper Savita Punia made an important penalty stroke save to protect India’s lead.
The victory gave India its first women’s hockey gold at the Asian Games in 44 years. The team also secured a direct qualification place for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
In wrestling, Sujeet Kalkal produced a remarkable comeback to win gold in the men’s 65 kilogram freestyle category. The 23 year old Indian trailed Tajikistan’s Abdulmazhid Kudiev 4 to 9 in the final before fighting back to secure a 10 to 9 victory and the Asian Games title.
Sujeet has now joined Yogeshwar Dutt and Bajrang Punia as the third Indian wrestler to win Asian Games gold in the men’s 65 kilogram category.
Boxing also brought three gold medals for India. Parveen Hooda defeated Chinese Taipei’s Nien Chin Chen 3 to 2 in a split decision to win the women’s 65 kilogram title. Ankush Panghal secured gold in the men’s 80 kilogram category after defeating South Korea’s Kim Minseong by a split decision. Lovlina Borgohain also claimed gold in the women’s 75 kilogram category after beating China’s Bao Ziyi by a unanimous 5 to 0 decision.
Lovlina’s victory marked only the second Asian Games gold medal for an Indian woman boxer after Mary Kom’s triumph in 2014.
In archery, India’s women’s recurve team created history by winning its first Asian Games gold medal in the event. Ankita Bhakat, Kirti Sharma and Kumkum Mohod defeated world champions South Korea 5 to 3 in the final.
India also won silver in the mixed recurve team event, with Kumkum Mohod and Dhiraj Bommadevara finishing runners up after losing 3 to 5 to China in the final.
In sepaktakraw, India secured bronze in the men’s quadrant event after losing 0 to 2 to Japan in the semifinal. In sailing, Nethra Kumanan won bronze in the women’s dinghy event after finishing third with an overall score of 14 points.
Following these performances, India moved to fifth position in the overall medal standings. India’s medal tally reached 77, comprising 17 gold, 25 silver and 35 bronze medals.