From a Rs 3,000 bow in Amravati to a new Rs 13.28-crore archery academy in Mizoram, India’s Asian Games success reflects a wider effort to take the sport to more young athletes and give emerging talent the support to compete at the highest level.
For a family that makes cardboard boxes for sweet shops, Rs 3,000 is no small sum. For Kumkum Anil Mohod’s family, it helped buy something far more valuable than a piece of sporting equipment: a chance for their daughter to pursue a dream.
Growing up in Amravati, Maharashtra, Kumkum began archery with a modest wooden bow her grandmother helped buy. The journey that followed wasn’t built in a day, but through years of practice, competition, and the determination to keep going. At 17, she reached a stage few athletes ever do. At the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, she won the women’s individual recurve gold, becoming the first Indian woman to claim the title. She had already helped India win its first-ever women’s team recurve gold at the Games.
Kumkum’s story is moving because of the distance between that first bow and the podium. But it also reminds us that talent often emerges long before the resources needed to nurture it are in place.
India’s nine-medal archery campaign at Aichi-Nagoya-five gold, two silver and two bronze-suggests that the country’s success is no longer confined to a single champion or event.
For the Archery Association of India (AAI), expanding that pathway is central to sustaining the country’s recent gains. The association’s structure includes national championships across sub-junior, junior, and senior categories, along with National Ranking Archery Tournaments.
With support from NTPC, the association has organised around 53 national tournaments and championships, accounting for approximately 24,096 participant entries. Support has also covered kits and uniforms for Indian archers at international competitions, with around 1,145 athlete participations recorded across 88 events.
NTPC’s involvement spans both competitive exposure and longer-term development. The company began supporting archery through AAI under its corporate social responsibility programme in November 2018, with an initial commitment of Rs 16.18 crore through 2025. In September 2025, the partnership was renewed for four years, with a commitment of Rs 24.20 crore.
A separate agreement signed in 2022 with the National Sports Development Fund (NSDF) and the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports committed Rs 115 crore over five years for archery development. The NTPC-supported Dhanurvidya Project focuses on grassroots talent identification, academy development, coach training, scholarships, equipment and competitive exposure, including support for women and para-archers. Its implementation period has been extended to March 2030.
The approach is also taking shape through new infrastructure. On 8 October, NTPC Bongaigaon signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the Mizoram State Sports Council to establish an archery academy at Lengpui in Mamit district, with a financial commitment of Rs 13.28 crore over three years.
The proposed facility will provide professional coaching, modern equipment and structured training for young athletes preparing for district-, state- and national-level competitions. The state sports council will implement and maintain the academy, while NTPC Bongaigaon will provide financial assistance and monitor progress.
The Mizoram project adds a regional dimension to the wider effort: developing facilities closer to aspiring athletes and creating more opportunities to enter organised training.