Okazaki, Oct 3 (IANS) Seventeen-year-old Kumkum Mohod says she is yet to fully process becoming the first Indian woman to win an individual recurve gold medal at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games. With the recurve gold, the young archer completed a hat-trick of medals at the continental showpiece, including a gold in the women’s recurve team event and a silver in the mixed team event.

Speaking to IANS exclusively after her historic triumph, Kumkum revealed that the emotion and the feeling of winning an individual gold and securing the Olympic quota had still not sunk in. “No, doesn’t feel like it (winning) yet, still hasn’t sunk in!”

Kumkum defeated South Korea’s Yejin Oh in a shoot-off in the final on Saturday to secure the gold and an individual quota place for India at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.

The significance of the achievement was matched by the simplicity of Kumkum’s explanation for how she handled a campaign that saw her eliminate some of the biggest names in women’s recurve. Her approach, she said, was not to focus on the scale of the occasion or the reputation of the opponent but to remain within 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 mindset remained unchanged despite the quality of opposition. Kumkum defeated reigning Olympic and world champion Kang Chaeyoung in the quarterfinals before overcoming China’s Jingyi Zhu, the 2025 World Championships silver medallist, in the semifinals. She then recovered from a 3-5 deficit against Oh in the final to force a shoot-off, where she shot a 10 after the South Korean managed an 8.

Asked whether she had altered her strategy as the stakes increased with every round, Kumkum said there was no significant adjustment.

“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’s instructions were similarly centred on keeping distractions away. “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.

That discipline became particularly important in the final. With Oh leading 5-3 and just one tied set separating the Korean from the title, Kumkum had to produce a response. She shot a perfect 30 in the fifth set to force the shoot-off.

There was no tactical overhaul at that stage either. “No, I just told myself to stay confident and shoot,” she said when asked what changed after falling behind.

Kumkum’s ability to reproduce her technique under pressure, she said, is supported by a routine that extends beyond her time on the range. “It’s concentration, meditation, visualisation and book reading. I do all these things apart from archery,” she said.

The gold had not been a target she had set herself after finishing 10th in the ranking round. Instead, Kumkum said she approached the individual competition one match at a time. “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,” Kumkum expressed.

That detachment also extended to her opponents. The presence of athletes with Olympic and world-level credentials did not alter her approach. “Not at all,” Kumkum said when asked whether the reputations, rankings or achievements of Kang and Zhu had played on her mind.

The 17-year-old now turns her attention towards the next phase of her career. Although she acknowledged that there are changes she would like to make to her game, she has no immediate list of technical alterations in mind.

“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.

The Asian Games gold has also put an Olympic target firmly on the horizon. Kumkum secured an individual quota for India for LA28 through her performance in Okazaki, but she says the focus will not be restricted to one future event.

“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, however, the historic significance of the day appears yet to have sunk in for the teenager who made it happen.

–IANS

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