Kumkum Mohod on childhood sacrifices after Asian Games individual gold in Aichi-Nagoya
Kumkum Mohod, a 17-year-old from Amravati, Maharashtra who became the only Indian archer to win an individual gold medal at the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, spoke on her return from the Games about the sacrifices behind her achievement.
Kumkum described a childhood focused almost entirely on training and competition, saying her parents abandoned leisure and holidays to accompany her to events. The comments came during a press interaction facilitated by the Sports Ministry of India, where she outlined the practical and financial constraints her family faced while supporting her archery career.
Her parents’ involvement included her father, Anil Mohod, who makes cardboard boxes for sweet shops in Amravati and began taking her to the academy on his motorcycle when travel became difficult. Kumkum said the family financed her early equipment: "Her first bow was a wooden one bought for Rs 3,000 with money given to her by her grandmother," and she noted that they had to manage the financial demands of pursuing the sport.
Kumkum played a pivotal role in India’s team success at the Games, helping secure the women's recurve team gold alongside Ankita Bhagat and Kirti Sharma. India defeated the reigning world champions 5-3 in the final on October 2 to claim their first-ever Asian Games gold in the women's recurve team competition, ending South Korea's 44-year dominance in the event, and Kumkum produced important 10s as India stayed level with South Korea through the opening sets before taking control.
In the individual competition she beat South Korea's Oh Yejin in a shoot-off to win the women's recurve individual gold, becoming the only Indian archer to claim an individual gold medal at the Games. Reflecting on her approach to opponents, she said: "I do not see my opponents. Everyone says Korean, Korean. My goal is simple. Hit a 10. If I hit it, the opponent does not matter."
Kumkum traced her start in archery to 2018 after encouragement from her mother, Rupali, and won a silver medal at the sub-junior nationals within six months of taking up the sport. The article notes she has been competing in recurve for only around three years, was still using a five-year-old second-hand bow during her rise, and earlier in 2026 helped India win women's recurve team gold at the Archery World Cup Stage 2 in Shanghai and mixed-team gold with Dhiraj Bommadevara at Stage 3 in Antalya.
On the personal cost of that progress she credited her father for motivation: "When I was not good at the sport, my dad gave me motivation. He calls me champion at home, he still does, and says that I will do everything," and added, "I sometimes complain that archery was my entire childhood. But it is okay. Sometimes I miss playing with kids, that is all." She also said: "Many like to travel, enjoy life. They left all of that. They were always tagging along with me in tournaments."
Kumkum’s account echoed comments from other young athletes about sacrifices required for elite sport; Indian chess grandmaster Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa told Indian media: "I don't really regret it but of course, I would have loved to have some school or college friends back home (in Chennai). But you have to give (up) certain things (to achieve certain things). When you are going for bigger things... I'm happy with how things are right now," and the Asian Games results represented another step in Kumkum’s development while she maintains a focus on execution rather than reputation of opponents.