Aditi Swami is an Indian archer who gained significant recognition after becoming the youngest-ever senior world champion and the first Indian to win an individual compound gold medal at the World Archery Championships in 2023.
Contents
Wiki/Biography
Aditi Gopichand Swami [1]World Archery was born in 2006 (age 17 years; as of 2023). She belongs to Satara, Maharashtra.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 2″
Hair Colour: Black
Eye Colour: Black
Family
Parents & Siblings
Her father, Gopichand Shankar Swami, works as a Maths teacher at a government school in Satara, Maharashtra, while her mother, Sehla, works at the Maharashtra Gram Panchayat. Aditi has a younger brother.
Career
National Championships
In 2022, Aditi won gold in the compound women’s individual category at the 36th National Games, held in Gujarat, India. She defeated Delhi’s Pragati by a margin of 144-143 in the finals.
Aditi Swami after winning gold at the 36th National Games (2022)
International Championships
Aditi won gold in the compound women’s team category and silver in the women’s individual compound category at the 2022 Archery Asia Cup, held in Sharjah, UAE. [2]Aditi Swami – Instagram
Aditi Swami (extreme left), along with her team, at the 2022 Archery Asia Cup
Aditi Swami participated in the 2023 World Archery Youth Championships in Limerick, Ireland. She won gold under the compound under-18 women’s individual category after defeating USA’s Leann Drake by 142-136 and won gold under the compound under-18 women’s team category.
Aditi Swami (centre), along with Leann Drake (left) and Liko Arreola (right), after winning gold at the 2023 World Archery Youth Championships in Limerick, Ireland
In the same year, Aditi participated in the World Archery Championships in Berlin under the compound women’s category in which she won gold, becoming an athlete to claim India’s first-ever individual title at the 2023 Hyundai World Archery Championships. She defeated Mexico’s Andrea Becerra by 149-147 in the finals; Aditi won gold under the compound women’s team category as well at the event.
Aditi Swami after winning gold at the World Archery Championships 2023
She won bronze in the compound women’s team category at the 2023 Archery World Cup.
Aditi Swami (second from the extreme right), along with her team, after winning bronze at the 2023 Archery World Cup
Aditi Swami won gold in the compound women’s team category and bronze in the women’s single compound category at the 2023 Asian Games, held in Hangzhou, China.
Aditi Swami (right), along with her team, at the 2023 Asian Games
Medals
Gold
- 36th National Games (2022)
- Archery Asia Cup (2022) – (Team)
- World Archery Youth Championships (2023) (Individual)
- World Archery Youth Championships (2023) (Team)
- World Archery Championships (2023) (Individual)
- World Archery Championships (2023) (Team)
- Asian Games (2023) (Team)
Silver
- Archery Asia Cup (2022) (Individual)
Bronze
- Archery World Cup (2023)
- Asian Games (2023) (Individual)
Award
Aditi received the Arjuna Award from the President of India Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on 9 January 2024.
Aditi Swami while receiving the Arjuna Award from the President of India Droupadi Murmu
Facts/Trivia
- Aditi Swami is coached by Pravin Sawant.
Aditi Swami with her coach, Pravin Sawant
- Her father, Gopichand, was instrumental in her success in archery. He made the significant decision to relocate from their village to Satara, a distance of about 15 kilometres, to provide Aditi with better access to sports facilities. His belief was that Aditi should excel in at least one sport, and this move made it possible for her to pursue archery. [3]The Times of India
- At the age of 12, Aditi visited Satara’s Shahu Stadium where her father introduced her to various sports. While many kids were engaged in football and athletics, it was a small group of archers setting up targets that caught Aditi’s eye. Soon after, she began training with coach Pravin Sawant at an archery academy built on a sugarcane field, practising three hours on weekdays and over five hours on weekends. While talking about this, in an interview, Gopichand shared that he further fueled her interest by showing her videos of renowned archers, including 2010 Commonwealth Games gold medallist Deepika Kumari and Asian Games gold medallist Abhishek Verma. [4]The Times of India
- According to Gopichand, Aditi’s coach noticed her exceptional performance in archery and advised him that she would need her own bow to progress to the next level. Recognizing that professional bows can be quite expensive, and beyond his financial reach, Gopichand took out loans, which later amounted to Rs. 10 lakh, to ensure Aditi had the equipment she needed to excel. [5]The Times of India
References
| ↑1 | World Archery |
|---|---|
| ↑2 | Aditi Swami – Instagram |
| ↑3, ↑4, ↑5 | The Times of India |
