A Childhood Spent With Only a Bow and Arrow: Kumkum Mohod at the Cost of Chasing a Dream

Kumkum Mohod was the only Indian archer to win an individual gold medal at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. But behind the 17-year-old’s historic success lies a childhood largely spent chasing her sporting dream, often at the cost of something many kids take for granted: time to play with friends.

After her return from the Kumkum Asian Games, she opened up about the sacrifices she and her parents made to help her become an international archer. The teenager from Amravati, Maharashtra, said her parents gave up their free time and holidays to accompany her to tournaments while she spent most of her childhood training and competing.

“Many like to travel, enjoy life. They have left it all behind. They have always traveled with me to tournaments,” Kumkum said during a press conference mediated by the Indian Sports Ministry.

Her father Anil Mohod makes cardboard boxes for sweet shops in Amravati and the family had to deal with the financial demands of archery. Her first bow was a wooden one bought for Rs 3000 with money given to her by her grandmother. When traveling to training became difficult, her father began driving her to the academy on his motorcycle.

The sacrifices helped Kumkum quickly rise through the ranks, but she admitted there were times when she wished her childhood had been different.

“When I wasn’t good at sports, my dad motivated me. At home, he calls me a champion, he always does and says I’ll do anything,” she said.

“Sometimes I complain that archery was my whole childhood. But that’s okay. Sometimes I miss playing with the kids, that’s all.”

HE’S NOT THE FIRST TO MISS A CHILDHOOD

Kumkum is not the only young Indian athlete who has spoken about missing out on parts of a conventional childhood in pursuit of perfection. Indian chess grandmaster Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, then 21, spoke of a similar experience during a Norwegian chess tournament.

“I don’t really regret it, but of course I would have loved to have some friends from school or college back home (in Chennai). But you have to (give up) certain things (to achieve certain things). When you’re going for bigger things… I’m happy with the way things are right now,” Praggnanandhaa told Indian media.

For young athletes, the pursuit of sporting success often begins long before the rewards come. Training schedules, travel and competitions can leave little room for the everyday experiences of children their age, while families make significant personal and financial sacrifices to support their ambitions.

KUMKUM’S GOLDEN BREAKTHROUGH

Kumkum’s sacrifices translated into great international success at the Asian Games. In Nagoya, she helped India win the women’s team recurve gold medal alongside Ankita Bhagat and Kirti Sharma, ending South Korea’s 44-year dominance in the competition. India beat 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 event.

Kumkum played a key role under pressure, producing an important 10 as India stayed level with South Korea through the opening sets before taking control of the contest.

She then secured the biggest individual title of her young career, defeating South Korea’s Oh Yejin in a shootout to win the women’s recurve individual gold. Her win made her the only Indian archer to win an individual gold medal at the Games.

HOW DID KUMKUM GET STARTED WITH ARCHERY?

Kumkum started archery in 2018 after her mother Rupali encouraged her to take up the sport. Within six months of starting, she won a silver medal at the sub-junior nationals and has since progressed despite limited resources. She has only been competing in recurve for about three years, and she was still using a five-year-old, second-hand bow when she climbed to the top.

Earlier in 2026, she helped India win the women’s recurve team gold at the 2nd leg of the Archery World Cup in Shanghai and the mixed team gold with Dhiraj Bommadevara at the 3rd leg in Antalya. The victory at the Asian Games marked another important step in her development.

Kumkum, however, is more focused on the task ahead than on her reputation as an opponent behind the shooting line.

“I don’t see my opponents. Everyone says Korean, Korean. My goal is simple. To hit 10. If I hit it, the opponent doesn’t matter,” she said.

This approach was evident in her Asian Games final against Oh. With the individual gold at stake, Kumkum held her nerve in the shoot-off and played when it mattered most, adding another milestone to a journey that began with the youngster picking up her bow in Amravati.

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