Kumkum Mohod: Looking to meet Kohli, earn a ticket to Los Angeles Olympics

• Kumkum Mohod wins individual and team gold at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, along with a mixed team silver.

• The 17-year-old archer recalls how her grandmother saved Rs 3,000 for her first bow.

• Mohod shifts focus to the national championships and the battle to secure her place at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.

The only time Kumkum Mohod betrayed the 17-year-old girl in her was when she expressed a desire to meet cricket icon Virat Kohli. "You marvel at his discipline, how he continues to work so hard. However, I don't know what to ask him if I meet him," remarked the double-gold medallist at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, where she became the toast of the Indian contingent.

The girl-next-door from Amravati in Maharashtra created history by becoming the first Indian to win an individual gold medal in women’s recurve archery. She capped that achievement with a team gold and a mixed team silver alongside her idol, Dhiraj Bommadevara. Her all-round performance, particularly in the individual final, where she held her nerve to edge past South Korea’s ace Oh Yejin in a shoot-off, earned her the Indian Olympic Association’s (IOA) Best Women Athlete of the Games award.

There has been little downtime for Kumkum and her teammates. She has plunged straight into the inaugural edition of the ongoing Archery Premier League (APL) in Telangana, representing Chero Archers. Her next assignment is the national championships in November, even as the resilient teenager has already begun focusing on securing her place at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.

Responding to a question from National Herald during a virtual interaction hosted by the Sports Authority of India (SAI), Kumkum said: "As of now, I have earned an Olympic quota for my country by reaching the individual final. However, I will have to try and seal my place at the Olympic trials next year, where I plan to give my best for a podium finish. It’s the ultimate dream, but I need to work on a few areas of my game to become better."

It has been more than a week since Kumkum, a product of Dange’s Radhey Archery Academy in her hometown of Amravati, displayed nerves of steel to overcome the Korean world champion and claim the historic gold. The question naturally came up during Friday’s interaction, and she responded with a maturity beyond her years.

"The power of manifestation certainly helped me. Everyone holds the Koreans in awe, but I didn’t think about my opponent at all. All I thought was that both of us would eventually have to hit a 10. I kept visualising the entire process, from stance to release," she said.

How has life changed for the teenager who once juggled school with the daily grind of long hours at the academy? By her own admission, Kumkum has become something of a local celebrity. With a shy smile, she recalled: "It was around 11 pm when we reached home, but there were still people waiting to welcome me. They made big posters of me, and I was driven around the city the next day."

Blessed with prodigious talent, Kumkum will still be only 19 if she makes it to Los Angeles in 2028, giving her ample time to pursue her Olympic dream. Yet, her journey has already taken her a long way from the early years of struggle, when her grandmother saved a paltry Rs 3,000 to buy her first bow.

"You see, it’s an expensive sport, and my father had initially dissuaded me from taking it up. Times have, of course, changed, and my parents are now my biggest motivators. Their advice now is to treat the Asian Games success as a thing of the past and focus on what lies ahead," she said.

The teenage champion has also come to terms with the fact that life as a professional athlete can deprive her of some of the simple pleasures associated with being her age.

"I have grown used to it. However, I do unwind by listening to music whenever I get the time, whether on the team bus or while travelling. I also watch movies," she added.