Father makes sweet-boxes; daughter’s Recurve Archery gold sees him buy them back in bulk as celebrations begin

Kumkum Anil Mohod’s father runs a small sweet box making business in Amravati, Maharashtra.

Ankita Bhakat’s father was delivering milk packets in Kolkata, before she emphatically told him her archery prize money would take care of family expenses. And he needn’t start his day at 4 a.m as he aged.

Kirti was once termed too thin (lacking in power needed to pull bow string) for archery by coaches.

Now the trio of 28-year-old Ankita, 17-year-old Kumkum and 19-year-old Kirti have created history in Recurve Archery for India winning India’s first ever gold at the Asian Games with the complex Recurve bow.

The trio scored a sensational 5-2 win over the powerhouse Korean women’s team in the Asian Games Nagoya final. The Koreans had in their midst, Tokyo Olympics team gold medallist and reigning world champion Kang Chae-young, Oh Ye-jin and Lee Yunji.

ALSO READ | Meet Kumkum: Sweet box maker’s daughter with 2nd-hand bow on her way to Asian Games

On Friday morning at the Okazaki Central Park Multipurpose Square in Japan, the Indian team was tied 2-2 after the second set (each set fetches 2 points), before they won the fourth and tied the fifth to win the title, a first in India’s history.

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In Amravati, Kumkum’s father Anil, was calling the famous sweet house Raghuvir Mithaiyan, for whom once he made the sweet card boxes, with a bulk order for celebrations.

GOLDEN GLORY FOR BHARAT! 🇮🇳🥇

A historic triumph by Ankita Bhakat, Kumkum Anil Mohod and Kirti as they secure India’s first-ever Gold in the Recurve Women’s Team event at the Asian Games 2026.

Precision, perseverance and an unforgettable finish. What a proud moment for Bharat!… pic.twitter.com/z0gLCTe7gS

— Arun Govil (@arungovil12) October 2, 2026

A first wooden bow bought by the Rs 3,000 given by her grandmother Kusum, in 2018 was Kumkum’s initiation in sport, before she started training under coach Prafull Dange in Amravati. A silver in sub-junior nationals six months later followed before Kumum’s father would get her a second hand bow. “A relative’s daughter had started archery when Kumkum too wanted to try. My mother gave her the money to get her the bow and initially she would go in a shared auto with other children to train at the academy,” her father says.

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Later, as other children quit, he would take time out from his sweet card boxes making shop to ferry her to training. “We got her a second-hand bow later with whatever savings we had and Kumkum would always tell me that whether an old bow or new, it’s one’s courage that matters. Today she has shown that to the world, “ shares Anil, speaking to The Indian Express.

With Kirti being the third member of the trials edging out time Olympian Deepika Kumari in the Indian team, it was a maiden Asian Games for the archer from the village of Ritalin near Jind in Haryana.

Kumkum Mohod with parents Anil Mohod and Rupali Mohod. (Special Arrangement)

The 19-year-old archer’s journey as an archer began in 2016, when coach Udham Singh visited their village to recruit kids for the academy in the nearby village of Pillukhera. The coach ruled out Kirti due to her physique initially before the youngster was inducted three years later in 2019.

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“Initially I rejected Kirti due to her thin body frame,” coach Udham Singh had told this daily earlier. “But some years later, when we visited the village again, we selected her. We had to work a lot on her strength and to make her body in alignment with the bow motion. We also worked on her bow arm strength as well as stability with dry practice with the bow initially. When Kirti was selected for the SAI centre in Hazaribagh, where I was the coach, the team worked with nutritionists to help her gain shoulder muscle power,” he added.

Father Vijay, who owns three acres of land in the village would take loan from the local commission agent to get Kirti a second bow worth Rs 60,000 with the archer training at the academy followed by her selection in SAI centre at Hazaribagh in Jharkhand in 2022.

“Hum toh sidhe sadhe kisaan hain. Kirti was very thin and would only have a single glass of milk during the whole day. She would not like to eat and sometimes we were worried. When she was rejected by the coaches initially due to her thin body, she was not dejected. She understood it and later she was selected. Archery took her to the academy in Jharkhand and now see our girl has won the Asian Games gold so far away in Japan,” says father while speaking with The Indian Express.

Prior to her departure to Japan, Kirti had shared how she idolises Korean triple Paris Olympics gold medallist Lim Si-hyeon. “Even though she would not be at the Asian Games, I have been watching her archery videos and often watch her technique,” Kirti had shared.

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Bhakat, who had finished at the fourth place in the recurve mixed team event along with Dhiraj Bommadevara at Paris Olympics, had started archery in 2006 at the local competition in Kolkata’s circus ground before she was picked up by the Tata Archery Academy in 2014.

Father Shantanu Bhakat was delivering milk packets in the neighbourhood of Khatipura in Kolkata on Friday morning and was watching the final on his mobile. “When Ankita started archery, the finances were not good. A lot of time, I had to borrow money from my four brothers to manage the expenses of her training as well as travel to the local competitions as well as other cities. Sometimes, I would drop her to training when I would go for the milk delivery and she would be eagerly ready with the bow,” shares Bhakat Sr while speaking with The Indian Express.

At Amravati, Anil is busy calling up his friends and relatives to celebrate the medal at the family’s home as well as making arrangements for offering the sweets. “All my life I have made sweet boxes for other sweet shops, This day calls for the celebrations for all the three girls and the gold for India,” says the proud father.