Telangana’s archer Chikitha Taniparthi backs golden double in Asian Games

Telangana’s Chikitha Taniparthi capped a remarkable journey by winning two compound archery gold medals at the Asian Games. Backed by her farmer father and mentor Abhishek Verma, the 21-year-old has overcome financial and training challenges and secured India a quota place for LA 2028

Hyderabad: Chikitha Taniparthi, the girl with the golden arm, produced a spectacular performance to win a ‘golden double’ in the ongoing Asian Games, claiming gold in the women’s compound team and mixed team events.

The mixed team gold, won alongside Sahil Jadhav, also secured India a quota place for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, where compound archery will make its Olympic debut.

The 21-year-old Chikitha, from Sultanpur village in Telangana’s Peddapalli district, has emerged as one of India’s promising young archers and has rarely disappointed her mentor Abhishek Verma despite facing several odds.

Chikitha became the first Indian woman archer to win gold in the individual Under-21 category at the 2025 World Archery Championships and has also won medals at the Archery World Cup, Indoor Archery World Series and Archery Asia Cup.

Not long ago, Chikitha and her passionate father, Srinvasa Rao, a farmer who even had to sell the family’s rice harvester to help his daughter pursue archery, were forced to look beyond Telangana for better training facilities in Maharashtra and Delhi.

Things started turning for the better when Chikitha joined the Sports Authority of India academy in Sonepat. She never looked back, with Abhishek showing the kind of faith in the young archer that few had dared to place in her.

Ever since winning gold in the women’s individual event at the 2023 National Games, Chikitha has remained on the radar of excellence, consistently winning medals on the international stage.

On her World Cup debut in 2025, she teamed up with renowned archer V Jyothi Surekha and Madhura Dhamangaonkar to win gold in Shanghai. Jyothi was also part of the Indian women’s team that won gold at the 2026 Asian Games alongside Chikitha and Prithika Pradeep.

One of Chikitha’s standout performances came at the 2025 World Archery Championships in Winnipeg, where she won gold in the Under-21 junior category after reaching the venue despite flight cancellations that caused immense mental stress.

Chikitha Taniparthi

So, when Chikitha won the grand double at the 2026 Asian Games, it was hardly a surprise given the dream run she has enjoyed this year. She won gold in the Bangkok leg of the Asia Cup in the mixed team event with Rajat Chauhan, bagged silver in the team event at the 2026 World Cup, and followed it with mixed team gold and team silver at the Asia Cup.

By all means, Chikitha’s remarkable success story is yet another reminder of the sacrifices families make to enable their children to pursue sport seriously.

Her mentor Abhishek and her parents will have little reason to regret the support they extended on all fronts despite the odds. Chikitha has certainly left a lasting impression at the 2026 Asian Games.

And she is unlikely to be content with this ‘golden double’, with the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics already firmly on her radar.