Published on: Oct 3, 2026, 12:08:14 IST

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Nagoya, Her composure when taking aim belies her tender age but the child in Indian teen archery sensation Kumkum Mohod takes over when she puts her bow down and talks about giving up ice cream before the Asian Games and the challenge of holding on to her love for maths after historic twin gold medals here.

The 17-year-old from Maharashtra, who won gold medals in the women's and mixed team events of the World Cup this year, displayed sensational form to become the first Indian woman to claim an individual recurve gold at the Asiad after playing a stellar role in the team's top finish on Friday. She also collected a mixed silver in what can easily be described as a brilliant Games debut.

Icing on the cake was that she defeated her idol and former Olympic champion Kang Chaeyoung of Korea in the individual quarterfinals.

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"I love eating ice cream. I love the butterscotch flavour. But I didn't have it since I came here on September 11. It was difficult but I had my goal in my mind," she said after her historic win.

"My mother introduced me to archery. I was very good in studies. I used to get 90 above percentage always and my favourite subject is maths but studies have now taken a backseat.

"I am also not using my phone so at this point I don't have communication with a lot of people around, it's only with family and coaches and the team here," added Kumkum, who also idolises Indian men's squad star Dhiraj Bommadevara.

Kumkum said she has always been a dreamer and after realising her goal of winning the Asian Games gold, she has now set her sights on finishing on the podium at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. With her individual gold, she has also ensured India a quota place at the Olympic Games.

In Saturday's final, Kumkum won the shoot-off against more fancied South Korean Oh Yejin 6-5, displaying tremendous poise under pressure.

"I came prepared for shoot-off. Before coming here I used to visualise that if I face a shoot-off I will hit X and I did that. I had belief in myself so I could deliver. The team has also supported me with a positive mindset."

"Since childhood I have been dreaming big whether it is junior or senior doesn't matter. The goal is to give my best, focus on the process and I did that only. I have been dreaming about playing in the Olympics," Kumkum said.

"I started dreaming big since 2020 when I played in the sub-junior Nationals. The dream was to make the national team and step by step, those goals became better with exposure and vision and now the vision is set on LA 2028."

Besides winning the women's team recurve gold with Ankita Bhakat and Kirti Sharma, Kumkum also took the mixed pair silver with Dhiraj Bommadevara on Friday.

She said while shooting her only focus is on her process and not on her opponents.

"Before coming here my mindset was different. I was confident that I could do something and was very excited to take part in my first Asian Games. I just believed in myself and focussed on my process.

"I never looked at who is in front of me. When I shoot I only focus on my key points," she said.

The road to podium was not easy for Kumkum as it was strewn with some of the biggest names in the sport.

She defeated reigning world champion Chaeyoung before getting past world championships silver-medallist and former world No. 1 China's Jingyi Zhu in the semifinal.

This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.

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