Tale of Two Women: Kumkum Mohod and Savita Punia

Boria Majumdar in Nagoya

Let me set this up for you. She was down 3-5 and the gold medal was on the line. A bad set would mean Korea took gold and you got silver. You need nerves of steel at such times. And that’s exactly what Kumkum Mohod showed.

She won the set and the scores were tied at 5-5. Clearly, the third-seeded South Korean was feeling the heat. A 17-year-old Indian was writing her own fairytale and telling the world a new story, one it had never heard before.

In the shoot-off, she shot a perfect 10. Korea could manage only an 8.

Kumkum was an Asian Games recurve gold medallist and the first Indian in history to achieve the feat. If this isn’t sensational, I honestly do not know what sensational is.

Archery has turned a new leaf in Nagoya. That the Koreans are beatable is the new truth, and the Indians, both women and men, have proved it. Kumkum, with two golds and a silver, is the new star.

Her ability to soak in pressure and deliver under immense stress has totally demolished the argument that Indians are incapable of handling tough situations. Rather, it is the other way round. If you are able to put the Chinese and Koreans under pressure, they wilt. They aren’t used to such situations, and all you need to do is push them.

That’s what we have seen happen in Nagoya, and that’s what Kumkum has done time and again.

To Savita Punia now.

With India a goal to the good, and 24 minutes on the clock, China, ranked higher and a team India had not beaten in the last few years, were awarded a penalty stroke. Not a penalty corner, but a stroke. The gold medal was again on the line, and so was the LA28 qualification berth.

Savita understood in that one instant what pressure meant.

She was standing on the goal line and a lot was flashing through her mind. And yet she needed to stay calm and plan. Execute all the preparation and hard work she had put in. Anticipate what was coming at her and stop the ball.

Savita did exactly that.

She dived to her right and pulled off a stunner, helping close the door on China. Exactly two years earlier, Savita had been on the cusp of giving up. I am glad she did not, with a few of us close to her persuading her not to.

Today, she is an Asian Games gold medallist and one of the stalwarts who has led India to the LA28 Olympics.

It is clearly a tale of two women. One is 17 and the other a veteran of the sport at 35, exactly double Kumkum’s age. And yet something binds them together: the zeal for excellence and the ability to do something special under pressure for the country.

They are a story of these Games, as are Neeru Dhanda, Lovlina Borgohain, Parveen Hooda, Esha Singh, Suruchi Inder and so many others.

They are also a story of India.

So, take note and celebrate.

Follow Revsportz for latest sports news

The post Tale of Two Women: Kumkum Mohod and Savita Punia appeared first on Sports News Portal | Revsportz.