CM Saini hails Kirti, Team India's archery gold at Asian Games 2026
Synopsis
Haryana CM Nayab Singh Saini celebrated India's historic first gold in women's team recurve archery at Asian Games 2026, honouring Jind's Kirti, Ankita Bhakat, and Kumkum Anil Mohod for the landmark achievement.
Key Takeaways
India's first-ever gold in women's team recurve archery at the Asian Games was won at Asian Games 2026 .
The winning trio comprises Kirti (from Jind, Haryana), Ankita Bhakat , and Kumkum Anil Mohod .
Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini celebrated the win on 2 October 2026 , calling it 'lucky number 11 gold'.
CM Saini highlighted Kirti as 'Jind ki beti' (daughter of Jind), underlining Haryana's proud sporting tradition.
The victory is described as historic, filling a blank that had existed in Indian archery's continental record.
History landed with arrow number eleven. Kirti of Jind, Haryana, alongside teammates Ankita Bhakat and Kumkum Anil Mohod, clinched India's first-ever gold medal in the women's team recurve archery event at the Asian Games 2026 — and Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini was quick to celebrate the feat on 2 October 2026.
Posting with undisguised pride, CM Saini wrote: 'Shubh ank 11, ek aur gold m'hara' — 'Lucky number 11, another gold, ours' — and called out Kirti as 'Jind ki beti' (daughter of Jind), underscoring the deep Haryana connection to this triumph. The trio's victory writes a fresh line into Indian archery's continental record.
Jind's Kirti and the three-woman partnership that made history
The women's team recurve discipline demands not just individual precision but seamless coordination across three archers competing as a single unit under pressure. Kirti, Ankita Bhakat, and Kumkum Anil Mohod delivered exactly that — a gold-medal performance that no Indian women's recurve team had achieved at the Asian Games before. Each arrow counted; the team held its nerve when it mattered most.
Ankita Bhakat has been a consistent presence on the Indian recurve circuit, while Kumkum Anil Mohod brings complementary firepower to the lineup. Together, the three turned a historic blank into a golden first — a benchmark every future Indian women's archery team will be measured against.
Haryana's daughters and a golden streak at the Games
CM Saini's post is more than a congratulatory note — it is a pointed reminder of Haryana's outsized role in Indian sport. The state punches far above its weight in wrestling, boxing, shooting, and now archery, consistently producing athletes who reach continental and global podiums. Saini's phrase 'hamaari betiyan lagaataar swarnim pradarshan se desh ka maan badha rahi hain' — 'our daughters are continuously raising the nation's honour with golden performances' — reflects a state government narrative that actively champions women athletes as symbols of progress.
Jind, the city Kirti calls home, sits at the crossroads of Haryana's agricultural heartland. That a daughter of this district is now an Asian Games gold medallist will resonate well beyond the sports arena, sending a message to countless families about what is possible.
India's arrows flew straight. The scoreboard changed. And for Jind, for Haryana, and for Indian archery, nothing will look quite the same again.
Point of View
Scholarships, and visible political celebration of women athletes — has produced a consistent pipeline of champions across disciplines. CM Saini's framing of this gold as a community achievement ('Jind ki beti') is deliberate statecraft: it links the athlete's success to a place and a people, not just a jersey. As India prepares for future Olympic cycles, moments like this Asian Games gold signal that recurve archery's women's team is no longer an outlier but a genuine medal contender.
NationPress
2 Oct 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won gold in women's team recurve archery at Asian Games 2026?
India's team of Kirti, Ankita Bhakat, and Kumkum Anil Mohod won the gold medal in women's team recurve archery at Asian Games 2026, India's first such title at the Games.
Where is Kirti the archer from?
Kirti is from Jind in Haryana, as highlighted by Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini in his congratulatory post.
What did CM Nayab Singh Saini say about the Asian Games archery gold?
CM Saini celebrated the win with the phrase 'Shubh ank 11, ek aur gold m'hara' (Lucky number 11, another gold, ours) and called the victory a historic moment for India's women athletes.
Is this India's first gold in women's team recurve archery at the Asian Games?
Yes, according to CM Saini's post, this is described as India's first gold medal in the women's team recurve archery event at the Asian Games.
Which state does Indian archer Ankita Bhakat represent?
Ankita Bhakat is a prominent member of India's national recurve archery setup; her specific state association was not detailed in the available information from this announcement.
