The sports world currently belongs to youngsters. Whether it’s Kimi Antonelli in F1 or, closer home in cricket, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, young talents are taking centre stage. Earlier this month, another name was added to that list: Kumkum Mohod, 17, from Amravati, Maharashtra. Competing in her first Asian Games, Kumkum achieved what no other Indian had before her. Ending years of South Korea’s dominance in recurve archery, Kumkum made headlines across the continent with a stupendous performance in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.
At the 2026 Asian Games, Kumkum became the first Indian to win an individual recurve gold medal. She also struck gold in the women’s team event and added a mixed-team silver alongside Dhiraj Bommadevara, while her individual triumph secured a crucial Olympic quota place for India at the Los Angeles 2028 Games. Speaking at the NDTV World Summit on Friday, Kumkum said she wanted to win the medal for India and strengthen the belief that South Koreans could be beaten in archery.
“It was very important to win the medal. For so many years, South Korea has dominated our sport. There was a perception that only South Koreans could win. But when I went there, my only thought process was that if they could hit a 10, I too had to hit a 10. I just wanted to focus on my own game. I did just that,” Kumkum Mohod said at the NDTV World Summit.
“When I finally won the medal, I did not realise what I had achieved. I started archery in 2018. It has been a long journey. One thing I have always done is visualise.”
To put Kumkum’s achievement into context, consider this fact: women’s recurve archery was introduced at the Asian Games in 1978. Since then, across 13 editions, 10 individual gold medals have been won by South Koreans. The South Koreans enjoyed similar dominance in the team events as well, which has now been ended by India.
Mohod’s defining moment came in the individual final against South Korea’s Oh Yejin, a double gold medallist in the under-21 category at the 2023 World Archery Youth Championships. With the contest hanging in the balance, the Indian teenager held her nerve to deliver the decisive blow. In fact, in the quarter-final too, Kumkum beat another South Korean, Kang Chaeyoung.
“The player I faced in the quarter-final is my favourite player. I visualised playing against her,” she said.
Mohod is already looking beyond the Asian Games. While India has secured an Olympic quota place, it does not guarantee her an individual spot at LA 2028. The selection trials are scheduled for next year, giving her another target to pursue.