For Kumkum Mohod, "Dhiraj bhaiya" — Dhiraj Bommadevara to the world — is a big inspiration. The teen reads out a text message that her senior Indian archer and mixed recurve teammate sent her during the Asian Games.
"Khud pe focus karo (Focus on yourself). Aage kaun hai dekho mat (Don't see who your opponent is). Behave like a champion."
In Aichi-Nagoya, Kumkum behaved like a champion. In India, she got the feel of a champion.
Reaching her hometown Satara at 11pm after a lengthy route from Japan, a hoard of people and a rally of cars welcomed her. The next morning as she woke up to the sight of large posters and hoardings with her face placed across her locality, the who's who of the town, including district collectors and IAS officers, were out to greet her.
For a soft-spoken and reserved 17-year-old, this is all too new.
"Initially, in Japan, I got a bit nervous. I had not faced so many people from the media before," Kumkum said with a chuckle. "But after coming to India, I feel so good and proud. Earlier, it would be me asking someone for a photo. Now, people are asking me for photos with them."
Photos of Kumkum standing at the top of the podium, with a tear and a smile, as the country's first recurve Asian Games champion will be etched in Indian archery's history. So will photos of the Indian women's team, all laughs and glee, standing with gold medals around their necks over those grim-looking South Koreans. Also add photos of the youngster with her idol as the mixed team silver medallists.
{{/usCountry}}Photos of Kumkum standing at the top of the podium, with a tear and a smile, as the country's first recurve Asian Games champion will be etched in Indian archery's history. So will photos of the Indian women's team, all laughs and glee, standing with gold medals around their necks over those grim-looking South Koreans. Also add photos of the youngster with her idol as the mixed team silver medallists.
{{/usCountry}}Kumkum's photo finish, though, was the individual gold. A feat so rare in Indian archery that it was hardly believable. Not for her.
On that particular day, where the newbie took down two Koreans and a Chinese with multiple World Championships medals, she woke up "confident, with a strong mindset". For days leading up to that, she manifested every little detail of that day.
"I visualise everything," Kumkum said on Friday in an interaction facilitated by SAI
"I visualised the coach standing behind me. I visualised the shooting process: from how I stand, to the release, to the arrow hitting the target. I also visualised winning the gold."
Which she did, all that manifestation turning all too real with the shoot-off win against Korea's Oh Yejin. In that pressure-cooker one-shot winner-takes-all moment, Kumkum's heartbeat shot up. "I focussed on my breathing, relaxed, and told myself: I can do it, just shoot, no matter what happens."
What happened is history.
To display this level of mind control at the biggest of stages and sternest of tests isn’t normal for a 17-year-old Indian archer. It's also not normal for a kid to immerse herself in the sport after picking up a wooden bow gifted by her grandmother. Even if it meant missing out on typical childhood memories.
"I missed playing out and enjoying with friends. We sometimes talk at home, pura bachpan issi mein chala gaya (my entire childhood was dedicated archery). But, it's good."
The only time Kumkum spoke like a 17-year-old through a 45-minute chat was when she expressed her wish to meet Virat Kohli ("I admire his discipline"). She did meet Deepika Kumari and other senior Indian archers at the ongoing Archery Premier League in Hyderabad.
"They congratulated me, and told me to focus on the road ahead and on LA (Olympics)," said Kumkum. "Deepika didi has been competing for so many years, but she still works as hard with the same passion and discipline. I am learning that from her."
Indians are also learning the art of beating the Koreans in recurve archery. The women's team has defeated the powerhouses twice this year, at the Shanghai World Cup and the Asian Games. Kumkum was part of both teams.
"Beating the Koreans was important, because everyone keeps saying, 'Korea, Korea'. We had to erase that record once and for all. Going ahead, I believe this performance will only help Indian archers do even better," she said.
Going ahead, Kumkum doesn't want to pause, despite a break between the APL and the senior nationals at the end of the year. For her, there's work to be done on improving technically, mentally and physically. "I want to go to the gym daily," she said.
Each day, Kumkum realises, will count towards her bigger dream of the 2028 LA Olympics, for which her gold secured India a quota. For her parents, coach Prafull Dange and, more significantly, for herself, that remains the end goal.
“They told me to forget what has happened, because your dream is not this, your dream is the Olympics,” Kumkum recalled her parents’ words. “Remain grounded, focus on your work, and tell yourself that you have done nothing.”