‘Olympic gold jeetna hai’: Kumkum’s dream after ending Korea’s stranglehold in archery

NEW DELHI: For years, Kumkum Mohod had watched South Korean archers closely, studying their technique and trying to understand what made them so dominant in recurve archery. She observed their movements, learnt from their approach and looked at the qualities that had made them role models for young Indian archers like her.But when the 17-year-old stood on the shooting line at the Asian Games, just seconds away from releasing her arrow, she had a message for herself: the Koreans were not unbeatable.“Maine match shuru hone se khud ko bol diya tha, woh 10 maarte hain, to mujhe bhi 10 hi maarna hai [I told myself before the match began: they shoot 10s too, so I have to shoot 10s as well],” Asian Games 2026 gold medallist archer Kumkum Mohod told TimesofIndia.com in an exclusive interview.The 17-year-old made history by winning the women’s individual recurve gold at the Asian Games, beating…