Asian Games 2026: PT Usha names Kumkum Mohod, Sujeet Kalkal as Team India’s MVPs after historic golds

NEW DELHI: Teenage archer Kumkum Mohod and wrestler Sujeet Kalkal have been recognised because the standout performers of India’s marketing campaign on the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, with Indian Olympic Association president PT Usha naming them the inaugural recipients of the Jaspal Rana Award and Raja Randhir Singh Award respectively.The two awards have been instituted by the IOA to honour one of the best feminine and male sportspersons of the Games and commemorate the legacy of two stalwarts of Indian sport.Seventeen-year-old Mohod, making her Asian Games debut, gained three medals, together with two golds, whereas 23-year-old Kalkal produced some of the dramatic comebacks of the Games to say gold within the males’s 65kg freestyle wrestling class.India completed fourth within the medal standings with 21 gold, 27 silver and 37 bronze medals.

Mohod ends South Korea’s lengthy reign

Mohod was on the coronary heart of one of many greatest breakthroughs for Indian archery in Aichi-Nagoya.Along with Ankita Bhakat and Kirti, she gained the ladies’s recurve workforce gold, ending South Korea’s outstanding run of seven consecutive Asian Games titles within the occasion relationship again to the 1998 Bangkok Games.Mohod then adopted it with gold within the particular person recurve occasion, making certain that South Korea’s girls didn’t win a recurve gold on the Asian Games for the primary time within the self-discipline’s historical past. Her particular person triumph additionally secured a quota place for India on the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

India’s Kumkum Anil Mohod (Image: REUTERS)

Usha praised Mohod’s means to ship beneath strain and drew a parallel with the late Jaspal Rana, after whom the award has been named.“It is becoming that Kumkum is the primary recipient of the Jaspal Rana Award, as Jaspal too burst onto the scene as a prodigy on the 1994 Asian Games. Her composure beneath strain and her means to seek out her greatest kind when her again was to the wall augur extraordinarily nicely for Indian Archery,” Usha stated.The IOA president believes Mohod’s breakthrough might lastly assist Indian archery cross a long-standing barrier on the Olympics.“India’s archers have been knocking on the door for greater than a decade now, and I firmly imagine that this efficiency by Kumkum and her recurve teammates has shattered the glass ceiling for Indian archery. India got here near profitable a maiden Olympic medal within the sport on the Paris Olympics, and I’m satisfied that the ultimate frontier can be breached on the Los Angeles Olympics,” Usha added.

Kalkal turns a misplaced closing into gold

Kalkal, in the meantime, earned the Raja Randhir Singh Award after a gold-medal run that showcased his resilience and combating spirit.The 23-year-old defeated reigning Olympic champion Kotaro Kiyooka of Japan within the semifinal earlier than producing a surprising comeback in opposition to Abdulmazhid Kudiyev within the closing.Kalkal trailed 2-9 with time working out however refused to surrender, combating again to win 10-9 in a dramatic end. His triumph additionally continued India’s robust custom within the 65kg class, following Yogeshwar Dutt and Bajrang Punia, who gained Asian Games gold in the identical weight class in 2014 and 2018 respectively.

Sujeet Kalkal with coach after profitable gold medal. (PTI Photo)

Usha stated it was Kalkal’s refusal to simply accept defeat that made his efficiency notably particular.“Wrestling is India’s sport, and Sujeet’s efficiency can be spoken of for years to come back. The gold medal can be celebrated, however his never-say-die perspective and refusal to simply accept silver have earned him a particular place within the hearts of all Indians,” she stated.“Winning gold medals in elite competitors isn’t straightforward, however equally vital is the hassle that goes in when your again is in opposition to the wall. I want Sujeet all success within the years forward and can be rooting for him to ship India’s first-ever wrestling gold medal on the Olympic Games in two years’ time.”The IOA will felicitate Mohod and Kalkal at a ceremony within the coming days.Their choice supplies a becoming particular person recognition to 2 athletes whose performances stood out in India’s 85-medal marketing campaign.