"Asian Games ka individual medal lana hai." (I want to win an individual medal at the Asian Games)
Kumkum Mohod's goal when she made the cut at the selection trials was to simply win a medal when she made her major multi-sport debut at Aichi-Nagoya. Four months later, the 17-year-old has two gold medals, a silver and the historic distinction of being the first Indian woman to win an individual recurve archery medal at the Asian Games.
Achieved her goal, and then some.
ASIAN GAMES MEDAL TALLY | INDIA AT ASIAN GAMES 2026 | KEY DATES AT ASIAN GAMES 2026 | INDIA'S LIVE MEDAL TRACKER
In one of the most extraordinary performances from an Indian athlete at any Asian Games, Kumkum led from the front to win a women's team gold, followed it up with a silver in mixed team and came back the next day to win the women's individual title. All this in just about a year since the teen from Amravati, Maharashtra made her India debut.
Across her two gold medals, she beat the reigning World Championship gold and silver medallists, and South Koreans archers three different times. In her three individual matches on Saturday, Kumkum seemed to be able to shoot 10s on demand. In the 48 years and 12 editions that recurve archery has been part of the Asian Games, South Koreans have missed the gold medal just three times before, to North Korea, Chinese Taipei and China. For an Indian teenager to do this, is a seismic shake-up of the archery world.
These are not recurve archery results Indians have been used to seeing, and definitely not from someone so young. From Amravati, where the daughter of a mithai-box maker picked up the sport because her mother put her for the classes which were available close by, to the gold rush at Aichi-Nagoya, Kumkum has redefined the perspective of recurve archery in India.
In Japan, where all eyes were on the compound archers defending their gold medals from Hangzhou, and World Cup final winner Dhiraj Bommadevara, Kumkum Mohod had a slow start. She finished 10th in qualification, and was still under the radar despite her strong performances at the World Cups this year. That was until she showed up in the women's team final when the youngster was given the charge of shooting last.
The slow start was back on Saturday in the individual final, when she started with an 8 and then regrouped to hit 6 straight 10s before an 8 brought her to the brink. She was ever so calm in her quarterfinal and semifinal against Kang Chaeyoung of South Korea and Zhu Jingyi of China, the two finalists from the World Championship match. Would this final get to her, after the lost gold yesterday?
Then came the most defining moment of the final, when the gold medal match came down to a one arrow shoot-off. Oh Yejin, the 23-year-old who has come through what is perhaps the toughest selection trials in world archery, faltered and shot an 8 under pressure. Kumkum stepped up to the mark, drew her bow and released the arrow that flew bang into the centre - a 10 and a gold medal.
GOLD 🥇
Another Gold Medal in Archery this morning from Kumkum Mohod as she wins the Women's Recurve Archery event. This also secures an individual quota place for @la28 👏🏽👏🏽
Let's #Cheer4Bharat #WeAreTeamIndia | #JeetHamariHai pic.twitter.com/NYcRpO9HQz
- Team India (@WeAreTeamIndia) October 3, 2026
How does she manage to find the bullseye under pressure, virtually on demand? The extremely shy teenager is a woman of few words, and when asked this in the past, she said, "process pe dhyaan diya, shooting ki bas." [I focussed on the process and just shot.]
It's sounds like a simple-minded concept, but process and focus is what sets Kumkum apart.
When Kumkum first started, it was not to become a pro athlete, but because of parents who wanted her to play a sport, and archery was the most convenient since coach Praful Dange had his academy in the same area back home. It was Dange who identified her natural upper body and shoulder strength and thought she would be the perfect fit for recurve. Within six months of training, she had won a medal at a national exposure tournament for children in Vijayawada and that sparked her interest in the sport.
The recurve bow is notoriously difficult to master, especially for Indians who have had widely fluctuating matches and careers. The bow is heavy, the action is manual, the weather conditions are a big factor and and the margin for error a lot more than in compound. Watching Kumkum lift that bow, draw the string and release the arrow and find the yellow rings with ease, you would think it is a smooth process. But for a teen to have the physical strength and mental composure to manage it with such fortitude is special.
A lot of it is down to her mindset. She does not have the usual teenage distractions of smartphones and social media - something Dange is very proud of. Instead, she does yoga and meditation along with strength training, and her hobbies are reading books and maintaining a handwritten diary. The books she enjoys are on the power of tne subconscious mind, such as the Marathi book Vichar Niyam and Art of Living by BK Shivani.
All this helps keep her focus while shooting in an intensely nervy sport. In archery, the battle is often against oneself and this is where Kumkum excels; archery is almost a form of mediation for her. As soft-spoken and introverted as she is in person, she is a fiercely focussed competitor who can seem so absorbed, so as to be almost nerveless while shooting in pressure moments. Indeed, she seemed more challenged while giving what her coach said was her first media byte in May, than while winning the women's team that won gold at the Archery World Cup Stage 2 in Shanghai.
This is a challenge she will have to get used to now, just like she has been habituated to beating South Koreans at big events. But the quiet confidence that Kumkum carries when she has her bow with her makes it seem like nothing is impossible for her.