The Indian women's compound team, comprising Jyothi Surekha Vennam, Parneet Kaur, and Aditi Gopichand Swami, claimed a historic victory by winning the gold medal at the World Archery Championships 2023 in Berlin, Germany.
This achievement marks India's first-ever gold at the archery world championships in any category.
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The Indian trio defeated the Mexican team of Dafne Quintero, Ana Sofía Hernandez Jeon, and Andrea Becerra with a score of 235-229 in the final.
In the semi-finals, they knocked out defending champions Colombia with a score of 220-216. The team's success comes after winning 11 medals - nine silver and two bronze - at previous World Archery Championships.
This victory also represents India's fourth consecutive medal in the compound women's team event at the world championships. Jyothi Surekha Vennam, in particular, has been part of all four medal-winning teams.
TSN takes a detailed look at these archers who conquered the global crown for India.
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Who is Jyothi Surekha Vennam?
Vennam is a prodigy in its truest sense.
Not many know, that just at the age of four, she crossed the Krishna river three times, a distance of five km in three hours, 20 minutes and six seconds. This achievement earned her a place in the Limca Book of Records.
At just 13, she won an Olympic round gold medal at the Mexican Grand Prix.
She is an Arjuna awardee and has won several medals in the World and Asian Championships.
Vennam won individual bronze at the WAC in 2019 and an individual silver at the 2021 edition held in Yankton. This year, she has taken her performance to a new level, securing a maiden individual compound gold at the Antalya stage of the 2023 Archery World Cup.
Additionally, she has earned two compound mixed team gold medals on the international circuit, triumphing in both Antalya and Shanghai.
Here is Vennam's international medal tally:
| World Archery Championships | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2023 Berlin | Compound Women’s team | |
| 2017 Mexico City | Compound team | |
| 2021 Yankton | Team | |
| 2021 Yankton | Team mixed | |
| 2021 Yankton | Individual | |
| 2019 's-Hertogenbosch | Compound team | |
| 2019 's-Hertogenbosch | Compound Individual | |
| Summer Universiade | ||
| 2015 Gwangju | Mixed team | |
| World Cup | ||
| 2018 Samsun | Compound Mixed Team | |
| 2018 Berlin | Compound Mixed Team | |
| 2022 Paris | Compound Mixed Team | |
| 2022 Paris | Compound Individual | |
| 2023 Antalya | Compound Mixed Team | |
| 2023 Antalya | Compound Individual | |
| 2022 Birmingham | Compound Mixed Team | |
| 2018 Salt lake City | Compound Mixed Team | |
| 2018 Antalya | Compound Team | |
| 2017 Antalya | Compound Mixed Team | |
| 2018 Shanghai | Compound Mixed Team | |
| Asian Archery Championships | ||
| 2015 Bangkok | Compound Individual | |
| 2017 Dhaka | Compound Team | |
| 2019 Bangkok | Compound Mixed Team | |
| 2021 Dhaka | Compound Individual | |
| 2015 Bangkok | Compound Team | |
| 2017 Dhaka | Compound Mixed Team | |
| 2019 Bangkok | Compound Team | |
| 2021 Dhaka | Compound Mixed Team | |
| 2011 Tehran | Compound team | |
| 2017 Dhaka | Compound Individual | |
| World Youth Archery Championships | ||
| 2013 Wuxi | Compound Jr. Women team | |
| 2013 Wuxi | Compound Jr. Mixed team | |
Who is Parneet Kaur?
Hailing from Patiala, Kaur, just 18, boasts of having two world records in her pocket.
At 16, she scored 700 out of a possible 720 in the Cadet category to surpass the standing record of 699, whereas, she performed brilliantly at the 2021 Youth World Archery Championships as India finished with a score of 2067/2160, a new team world record.
She started archery in 2017 at 13 years of age and broke into the senior team at 16.
Kaur was guided by former compound archer Gagandeep Kaur and her first bow was from the man himself, albeit with lower poundage which would be suitable for a 13-year-old.
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Who is Aditi Gopichand Swami?
Swami hails from Satara in Maharashtra and was inspired by the success of Olympian archer Pravin Jadhav.
In 2016, she joined an archery academy and since then her graph has mostly gone north.
She won gold at the Archery Asia Cup 2022 Stage 2 at Sulaymaniyah, Iraq after teaming up with Kaur and Sakshi Chaudhary.
On her debut at the third stage of the Archery World Cup in Medellin, Colombia, the 16-year-old Indian compound archer made history by smashing the under-18 world record.
During the women's compound qualification round, Aditi scored a remarkable total of 711 points out of 720, surpassing the previous record of 705 points set by USA's Liko Arreola in May.
This achievement placed her at the top position in the qualification round, outperforming seasoned archers like Vennam and Sara Lopez.
“I feel amazing and I am very happy,” said the Indian teenager. “I didn’t expect that I was going to shoot like that and that score, but now I’m very happy with that score because I’m only 16 years old.”