Chikitha Taniparthi Gold Medal: When 21-year-old Indian compound archer Chikitha Taniparthi clinched two gold medals at the 2026 Asian Games, it was a triumph of a father's gruelling hardships and unwavering support. Having missed out on sports himself, Srinivas Rao made sure that his daughter had a sporting chance, and for that, he was ready for whatever it took. 

Those fierce battles of ups and downs and years of financial hardships have finally borne fruit as Chikitha Taniparthi proudly stands tall with a gold medal alongside her team at the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya.

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How Chikitha Taniparthi Got Into Archery?

Chikitha Taniparthi was never destined to pursue archery professionally. Recalling how she joined the sport after her smashing debut at the continental multi-sport event, she said, "I didn't get into archery on my own. It was my father's choice. He wanted me to play sports because he couldn't play any sports. When I was small, he used to take us to playgrounds. Every day we used to play some games.”

At school, from Classes 6 to 8, she did karate and got her first black belt. However, archery entered Chikitha's life during a Dussehra holiday when her uncle bought a recurve Decathlon bow. She began shooting arrows for fun at a makeshift target in her backyard.

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From Debt to Gold

Realising her potential, Chikitha's father took a loan of approximately Rs 3.5 lakhs with a steep 2 per cent monthly interest and kept his farm harvest as collateral. With the money, he bought her upgraded equipment, a Hoyt Concept X bow, to pursue archery more seriously. The following step required a training environment that could shape her future.

The family travelled to Delhi, where Chikitha met compound archer Abhishek Verma. Remembering how she was selected for the SAI Centre in Sonepat, Taniparthi said, "At that time, I was in school. We didn't know much about anything. Then I messaged Abhishek Verma sir's wife. Ma'am told me to come. Then we went there, and I trained for five days. I was selected to train in Sonipat."

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Inspired By Saina Nehwal

Taking inspiration from Saina Nehwal, Srinivas Rao decided that Chikitha must pursue an individual sport. She said, "After Saina Nehwal won an Olympic medal, he decided that I should play another sport (archery instead of karate)."

With rigorous training, the compound archer marked her international debut at the 2025 World Archery Youth Championships in Winnipeg, Canada. Creating history, she became India's first-ever under-21 female individual compound archer champion. She also secured team silver medals at the Archery World Cup in 2025 and again in 2026. 

Burdened by Self-Expectations

However, she struggled after winning the world titles. "Personally, I have been struggling this past year, facing some difficulties. After becoming world champion last year, it became very difficult for me to perform at the same level. I was struggling with my shooting aim," she recalled.

To ease the pressure that she had on herself over the past months, she chose to just focus on the controllables and stop overthinking. "I went to the Asia Cup and won two medals, and after that I worked really hard, and I got back to the first team. I just concentrated and said, you have to do it for yourself and give it 100," she said.

She further credits meditation and breathing exercises for helping her remain calm in such an intense sport. Shedding light on her routine, she said, "I do meditation and breathing exercises regularly, twice a day. I trust my process and follow it for a long time."