From commando to world champion: Toman Kumar’s second act

Four years after losing his leg in a blast during a counter-insurgency operation, Toman Kumar stood on top of the podium in Gwangju as a World Archery Para champion.

Now, as he prepares for his first continental Games at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Para Games, the Indian compound archer is facing another major challenge – and doing so with a remarkable transformation behind him.

Forced to adapt to a completely different life after his injury, he found a new direction through archery and, less than five years after taking up the sport, has established himself among the world’s leading para archers.

“I had never thought I would do sport after the injury,” said the 31-year-old Kumar, who comes from Nawagaon, a rural village in Balod district in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh. “I had never played sport before either. Nobody in my village played sport.”

Kumar joined India’s Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in 2017 before undergoing training with its elite Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) unit in 2021.

That same year, he was caught in an improvised explosive device blast during a Naxal operation and had his left leg amputated.

The physical injury was only part of the challenge.

“Initially, I went through a lot of depression,” Kumar recalled. “But when I came to Hyderabad, I saw people with disabilities that were more severe than mine. That motivated me.”

Kumar had travelled to Hyderabad, in the southern Indian state of Telangana, for rehabilitation and to receive an artificial limb. It was there that he met coach Pankaj Singh, a meeting that would change the direction of his life.

“Toman had lived a completely normal life before the accident. As a commando, he was extremely fit, had taken part in operations and undergone extensive training,” Singh said.

“Suddenly he had to deal with such a major change. That creates a lot of difficulties.”

Singh saw in Kumar the physical and mental qualities that could translate to archery and spent nearly two hours persuading him to give the sport a chance.

His introduction was gradual, beginning with just an hour at the training ground before the sessions became more regular and his scores started improving.

The early days were not easy.

At one of his first local tournaments, Kumar watched young children drawing their bows while he struggled to draw his own.

“He did not know that everyone had different draw weights,” Singh said, explaining that the children were using bows of around 20-30 pounds while Kumar’s was considerably heavier.

For someone accustomed to the physical demands of commando training, the experience came as a surprise.

“He saw the smaller children shooting and thought, ‘They can shoot and I cannot.’ That gave him a bit of a shock,” Singh recalled. “Then he said, ‘I will do it.’”

Singh’s message to his new athlete was equally straightforward: “Your job is to shoot. The rest is my responsibility.”

What followed was an intense training period.

Kumar had entered archery much later than many of the athletes he would eventually face internationally. Singh knew they could not recreate years of experience, but they could try to close the gap by putting in more hours.

“I used to tell him that if we trained an extra two hours every day, we would be putting in many more hours over a month than someone who was taking a break,” Singh said. “Slowly, we could cover the gap created by five or 10 years of experience.”

And Kumar responded.

After being selected at the SAI centre in Aurangabad, a city in the Indian state of Maharashtra, Kumar began competing against archers without disabilities.

At the CRPF departmental trials, he finished second in the open category with a score above 700 before claiming silver at the All India Police Championship.

“For a para athlete to compete at the All India Police level and win a medal was a historic achievement,” Singh said. “It was, as far as we know, the first time this had happened in our organisation.”

Kumar later shot 703 at the National Games, further underlining his ability to compete alongside other elite archers.

Singh believes Kumar’s fitness and discipline from his commando days helped him progress quickly. He was already calm under pressure, physically strong and accustomed to demanding training.

The progress soon carried onto the international stage.

Kumar made his World Archery Para Championships debut in Gwangju in 2025 and reached an all-Indian compound men’s final against seasoned Paralympic medallist Rakesh Kumar.

A technical failure forced Rakesh to retire from the match, handing Kumar the world title barely a year after taking up the sport.

“I have put in a lot of effort to practise,” Kumar said after the victory. “We had camps. I practised day and night to get here. So, I’m very happy with the result.”

He also partnered world number one Sheetal Devi to compound mixed team bronze in Gwangju.

The success continued into 2026.

At the opening stage of the Hyundai World Archery Para Series in Bangkok, Kumar beat Australia’s Rio 2016 Paralympic Games bronze medallist Jonathon Milne 146-142 to claim the compound men’s individual title.

He also won mixed team gold with Devi, the Indian pair beating Indonesia 153-146.

Kumar and Shyam Sunder Swami later won compound men’s doubles gold at India’s first international para archery event in Ahmedabad, beating Iraq 152-139, while Kumar added individual and mixed team bronze medals.

Kumar is now preparing for his next major challenge – his first continental Games, the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Para Games.

With experienced compound star Rakesh missing selection after finishing fourth at the national trials, the reigning world champion will lead India’s compound men’s challenge alongside Swami at the fifth Asian Para Games.

Kumar is also expected to partner Devi in the compound mixed team event.

Devi won the compound women’s individual and mixed team titles at Hangzhou 2022, the latter alongside Rakesh. This time, she and Kumar will look to keep the mixed team crown with India, having already tasted success together on the international circuit.

For Kumar, however, preparations are not only about scores and technique.

The former commando admits nerves still arrive when he steps onto a major competition field.

“You feel a little nervous in the first round. You are scared and wonder how it will go, whether it will go well or not,” he said. “But once you keep going, you get more comfortable and it becomes easier.”

Breathing exercises and meditation have become part of his mental preparation.

“During that time I just do some breathing – take a deep breath,” he said. “I meditate quite a lot.”

Asked what archery has taught him most, Kumar’s answer was simple.

“Hard work,” he said. “Earlier, I used to work much less hard, but in this sport, you have to work much harder. Another thing is that you have to concentrate. A lot.”

And despite his rapid rise from novice to world champion, Kumar knows exactly what he wants to sharpen before his Asian Para Games debut.

“I need to improve my focus.”

For someone whose life changed in an instant four years ago, it is another step forward – from rehabilitation to a bow, from a first local tournament to a world title, and now towards his first Asian Para Games.

The next chapter starts in Aichi-Nagoya.

With thanks to Neha Buswal.