Kumkum Mohod, Sujeet Kalkal Named First Recipients of New IOA Awards

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has named archer Kumkum Anil Mohod and wrestler Sujeet Kalkal as the inaugural recipients of the Jaspal Rana Award and Raja Randhir Singh Award, respectively.

The awards have been instituted by the IOA to recognise the best female and male sportspersons of the Asian Games and to honour the legacy of two prominent figures in Indian sport.

Kumkum Mohod Wins Jaspal Rana Award

Seventeen-year-old archer Kumkum Anil Mohod has been selected as the first recipient of the Jaspal Rana Award for her outstanding performance at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.

Making her Asian Games debut, Kumkum won three medals, including two gold medals.

She won the women’s recurve team gold along with Ankita Bhakat and Kirti, ending South Korea’s run of seven consecutive Asian Games titles in the event since the 1998 Bangkok Asian Games.

Kumkum also won the women’s individual recurve gold, helping India achieve a major breakthrough in Asian archery. Her individual gold also secured a quota place for India at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

Sujeet Kalkal Wins Raja Randhir Singh Award

Wrestler Sujeet Kalkal, 23, has been named the first recipient of the Raja Randhir Singh Award.

He won the gold medal in the men’s 65 kg freestyle wrestling category.

In the semifinal, Sujeet defeated reigning Olympic champion Kotaro Kiyooka of Japan.

In the final against Abdulmazhid Kudiyev, Sujeet produced a remarkable comeback. After trailing 2-9, he fought back to win the bout 10-9 and claim the gold medal.

His victory continued India’s strong tradition in the 65 kg category after Yogeshwar Dutt and Bajrang Punia, who had won Asian Games gold medals in the same weight class in 2014 and 2018, respectively.