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Behind Kumkum's 10s spree: Endless books, no social media, plenty of hunger
The 17-year-old delivered a stunning performance to help India end South Korea's women's team recurve gold medal-winning streak
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At an age where most of her peers are hooked to the reel world, 17-year-old Kumkum Mohod keeps busy in the real world by reading chapters of 'Vichar Niyam'. The Marathi book delves into the mind's power and control.
Kumkum is captivated by it, reads it regularly and feels uneasy without a book in hand.
"She reads books mostly about the power of the subconscious mind, and demands one book after another," Prafull Dange, her coach, told HT. "The good thing is that she doesn't just read them, she puts it into action."
She certainly did on Friday.
This is the youngest member of the Indian recurve women's squad shooting like the most experienced archer in the high-pressure semi-final and final.
This is a teen from Amravati who fronted up with those mighty Koreans and shot 10s on demand. At first, in the final shot of the opening set, she kept the challengers level with the serial champions. And again, to tie the second set for India. And again, to win the third set for India. And again, to win the gold for India.
This is an Asian Games first-timer walking away with two medals on the day—a historic women's team gold and a mixed team silver—as if to ask, 'What is the big deal?'
"She wasn't made to feel like this was a bigger event than any other. For her, this was like a state tournament," said Dange.
Many have tried these psychological shifts before, including some of the biggest names in Indian archery, and came up short at the biggest stages. Nerves, pressure and mental blocks often remained the enemies.
With her composed and confident mind, Kumkum broke all those shackles.
Against Korea in Aichi-Nagoya, Kumkum hit 10s with six of her eight shots. The two others were 9s for an incredible 78/80 performance, by far the best across both finalists. Against the same Korean trio in Shanghai in May, Kumkum again hit 10s with almost habitual frequency during the semi-final in India's triumphant World Cup Stage 2 run.
That was only her second World Cup, after breaking into the national team and making her debut in Mexico in April.
At the end of that tournament, Dange, who accompanied the team as coach in Mexico and Shanghai by virtue of his trainee topping the trials, asked Kumkum if she wanted to accompany him to explore the new country.
"She said, 'No, sir, you go ahead. I'll go to the gym'," Dange recalled.
After reaching Amravati from Shanghai post midnight, Dange checked if she wanted to train at 3:30pm the next day. Kumkum walked onto the ground 10 minutes early.
It is the kind of dedication that convinced Dange, who runs an archery academy in Amravati, to invest in the kid after her father, who runs a small sweet box manufacturing business, wanted Kumkum to pick up the sport. That dedication, despite starting recurve only three years ago, hasn't diminished.
"She has the same hunger," said Dange. "Now, her focus will shift to LA soon. Even today, I told her, 'This is just the start. Anyone can become a champion once. You have to maintain it'."
Kumkum maintained her mental grip on the big day. She kept her spot in the national team after two competitive trials. She backed up the World Cup gold with an Asian Games gold.
The 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, and maintaining her form and level leading into it, will be the next challenge. There's also a challenge between Kumkum and her coach. An Olympic medal will get her an Apple phone, an upgrade from her current old phone.
In that phone, Kumkum deleted all social media apps, including YouTube, a few months ago. Speaking to his other academy students after his trainee’s two medals, Dange placed Kumkum as an example.
"She is not on Instagram, but there are many reels of her achievements now."
