Chikitha Taniparthi wins two Asian Games compound golds in Nagoya on her debut
Chikitha Taniparthi won women's compound team gold and mixed team gold at the Asian Games in Nagoya, marking her first appearance at the Games, according to a report published on 2026-09-30. The schoolgirl from Sultanpur village combined with teammates to secure two gold medals, the second decided by a shoot-off against Korea.
Chikitha’s path to Nagoya began when she first tried archery during a Dussehra holiday and shifted away from karate, a sport she practised from Class 6 to Class 8 and in which she earned a black belt. Her father, Srinvasa Rao, encouraged sporting pursuits because he had not had the opportunity to play himself; Chikitha said, "I didn't get into archery on my own. It was my father's choice. He wanted me to play sport because he couldn't play any sport. When I was small, he used to take us to playgrounds. Every day we used to play some games." The bow that started her interest came from her uncle, who bought a recurve Decathlon bow during a Dussehra holiday and sent it from Hyderabad: "There was a Dussehra holiday, my father's younger brother who lives in Hyderabad, bought a recurve Decathlon bow. I tried it just for fun. We used to shoot just for fun at that time."
Financial sacrifice and equipment challenges were central to Chikitha’s development. After being selected for a junior camp in 2021, the family recognised the cost of pursuing archery; Rao took a loan for upgraded gear and later sold the family's rice harvester to fund her training. The family lost Rs 1.5 lakh to a fraud while trying to buy her first compound bow, after which Rao borrowed another Rs 3.5 lakh for new equipment, and a government-funded bow from the district Collector later aided her progress.
Seeking higher-level coaching, the family travelled to Delhi where Chikitha trained with compound archer Abhishek Verma and was then chosen for the SAI Centre in Sonepat. Recalling the move, she 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." SAI coach Vivek Kumar described her work ethic: "She would shoot about 300 arrows per day in two sessions and would come to training half an hour in advance before the 6.30 AM assembly even in sheer cold," Kumar said.
Abhishek Verma remained an ongoing influence on her technical development; Chikitha said, "From that time to now, he is supporting me, helping me, teaching me. He is my inspiration." Her father’s decision to switch her from karate to an individual sport was influenced by Saina Nehwal's Olympic success, a shift Chikitha recounted: "After Saina Nehwal won an Olympic medal, he decided that I should play another sport (archery instead of karate)."
On the international stage, Chikitha became world youth champion last year and won team silver at the World Cup in 2025 and again this year. She then experienced a period of difficulty with her shooting after the world title, saying, "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." Two medals at the Asia Cup helped restore her confidence and led to her return to India's first team.
At the Asian Games in Nagoya, Chikitha teamed with Jyothi Surekha Vennam and Prithika Pradeep to take women's compound team gold, and later partnered with Sahil Jadhav in the mixed team event; the Indian pair prevailed in a shoot-off against Korea to claim gold. She attributes composure under pressure to regular meditation and breathing exercises, saying, "I do meditation and breathing exercises regularly, twice a day. I trust my process and follow it for a long time."
Her two gold medals at Nagoya completed her Asian Games debut and followed her re-entry into India's first team after recovering form at the Asia Cup.
