India put up a spirited show in the recently concluded World Archery Championships where Aditi Swami became the youngest-ever to win an individual gold medal.
Aditi Swami
Gopichand Swami, a rural mathematics teacher who is extremely passionate about sports, always wanted his daughter to pursue at least one sport. So, when his daughter, Aditi Swami, grew a little older, Gopichand moved out from his village to settle at Satara in Maharashtra. He wished to get better sporting facilities for his daughter there.
At 12, Aditi picked up Archery among all other sports. She started training at Satara’s Shahu Stadium. She rigorously trained both inside the stadium and also at the academy of her coach Pravin Sawant.
Just when she was getting better in the sport, the world came under COVID-19. As Aditi could not go to the centres for training, she used an open space outside her house to continue her practice.
It was post-COVID, Aditi Swami started to participate in tournaments and kept improving her performance. In 2023, World Archery Youth Championships, Aditi became a double medallist winning individual and team gold medals.
World Archery Championships 2023
At the World Archery Championships 2023, Aditi Swami, seeded sixth, defeated fellow Indian Jyothi Surekha Vennam, seeded second, 149-145 in the semi-finals to book her place in the final. In the gold-medal match, she defeated Andrea Becerra of Mexico 149-147 to become the youngest archer to win an individual event at the senior world championships.
Jyothi, meanwhile, defeated Ipek Tomruk of Turkey 150-146 to clinch the bronze medal in the women’s individual compound event.
India had never won any gold medal at the World Archery Championships, but in the current edition, they have gone to win three gold medals.
India’s Ojas Pravin Deotale became the first Indian male to win gold at World Archery Championships. He beat Poland’s Lukasz Przybylski 150-149 in the final of the Compound Archery Individual event.
Parneet Kaur, Aditi Swami and Jyothi Vennam won gold in Compound Archery Team event.
Unfortunately, India’s Recurve archers failed to make it to the medal rounds, missing out on the Olympic quota places
