Kumkum Mohod Makes History With Asian Games Gold, But Says Victory Hasn’t Sunk In Yet

At just 17, Kumkum Mohod has already etched her name into Indian archery history, becoming the first Indian woman to win an individual recurve gold medal at the Asian Games. Yet, even after completing a three-medal campaign at the Aichi-Nagoya Games, the teenager says she is still struggling to process what she has achieved.

Kumkum dramatically secured the individual title on Saturday, defeating South Korea’s Yejin Oh in a shoot-off. Her victory also earned India an individual quota place for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.

The gold completed a remarkable Asian Games campaign for the young archer, who had already won gold in the women’s recurve team event and silver in the mixed team competition.

Speaking to IANS after the final, Kumkum admitted that the significance of the achievement had yet to fully register.

“No, doesn’t feel like it (winning) yet, still hasn’t sunk in!” she said.

Her performance in the individual competition was built around a remarkably controlled approach. Rather than allowing the occasion or the reputation of her opponents to influence her, Kumkum said she concentrated on executing her own process.

“While playing the matches, I was only focused on myself. I still don’t feel anything after winning the medal,” she said.

That approach was tested repeatedly during the knockout rounds. Kumkum defeated reigning Olympic and world champion Kang Chaeyoung in the quarterfinals before getting past China’s Jingyi Zhu, the silver medallist from the 2025 World Championships, in the semifinals.

The final presented another challenge. Kumkum fell 3-5 behind against Oh and needed to win the fifth set to stay in contention. She responded with a perfect 30, forcing the contest into a shoot-off.

Oh scored an eight with her final arrow, while Kumkum delivered a 10 to seal the Asian Games title and the Olympic quota.

Despite the pressure, Kumkum said she did not change her strategy when the match moved into its decisive stages.

“I had the same strategy from the beginning. I focused on my key points, the process and my breathing. That’s all I did,” she said.

Her coach reinforced the same message throughout the competition, encouraging her to shut out distractions and concentrate exclusively on her own performance.

“He was telling me to stay in my zone. Don’t think about what the opponent is hitting or how they are playing. Don’t even look at them or listen to them. Just focus on yourself. He was reminding me of my key points and reminding me to breathe,” Kumkum said.

Even after falling behind in the final, the teenager said she did not make any major tactical adjustment.

“No, I just told myself to stay confident and shoot,” she said when asked what changed after Oh moved ahead.

Kumkum credits her ability to remain composed under pressure to a routine that extends beyond archery training. Concentration exercises, meditation, visualisation and reading are among the activities she uses to prepare mentally.

“It’s concentration, meditation, visualisation and book reading. I do all these things apart from archery,” she said.

Interestingly, the individual gold was not something Kumkum had specifically targeted when the competition began. She finished 10th in the ranking round but said she deliberately avoided thinking too far ahead.

“I didn’t think of it like that. When the individual competition started, I just went for it. I told myself to be confident and see what happens. I didn’t think about the gold medal,” she said.

The teenager also insisted that the credentials of her opponents did not affect her mindset. Facing Olympic and world champions did not cause her to alter the way she approached the matches.

“Not at all,” Kumkum said when asked whether the reputation or achievements of Kang and Zhu had influenced her.

With the Asian Games now behind her, Kumkum wants to continue developing her game rather than immediately identifying a list of technical changes.

“Yes, I want to make some changes. But I don’t have anything in my mind right now. I want to work hard and see what happens,” she said.

Her qualification quota for Los Angeles 2028 has now given her another major target, but the teenager is keen to maintain the same match-by-match approach that carried her to Asian Games gold.

“I want to focus on the Olympics and the rest of the matches. I want to do my best in every match,” she said.

For now, though, the magnitude of her achievement remains difficult for Kumkum to grasp. At 17, she has already secured a historic individual Asian Games title, three medals at the continental event and an Olympic quota, even as she admits that the reality of it all has yet to fully sink in.