Ankita Bhakat is an Indian archer who specializes in recurve archery. She is the only left-handed archer in India participating in international competitions for women’s individual, women’s team, and mixed team recurve events. She gained attention in 2023 when she won a bronze medal in the Recurve Archery Women’s Team Event at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.
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Wiki/Biography
Ankita Bhakat was born on Wednesday, 17 June 1998 (age 25 years; as of 2023) in Sinthi More near Baranagar, Kolkata. Her zodiac sign is Gemini. At age 10, Ankita attended a local archery tournament in Kolkata’s Circus Maidan, making her curious about the sport. Shortly after, she joined a local archery club in the city to start practising. Facing financial challenges, she struggled to afford the expensive archery equipment. However, her passion for the game remained the same. To overcome the obstacle, she borrowed equipment from fellow club members for practice since she didn’t have her own bow and arrow set for a long part of her journey. In 2014, Ankita joined the Tata Archery Academy in Jamshedpur. There, she received training from coaches Dharmendra Tiwari, Purnima Mahato, and Ram Awdhesh. Bhakat performed well in the Archery Association of India (AAI) trials and earned a spot on the Indian national team for the 2015 World Archery Youth Championships in Yankton, the US. One week before the tournament, she, along with 18 other Indian athletes and coaches, faced visa denials for entry into the US.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 5″
Hair Colour: Black
Eye Colour: Black
Family
Parents & Siblings
Ankita’s father’s name is Shantanu Bhakat, who is a milkman. Her mother’s name is Shila Bhakat.
Archery
In 2015, she secured a bronze medal in the girls’ individual recurve event and a silver medal in the girls’ recurve team event at the Seoul International Youth Archery Festival. In 2016, she defeated Prachi Singh with a score of 6–2 in the all-Indian first-round match but faced a loss to Jeon Hunyoung with a score of 0–6 in the pre-quarter-finals of the women’s individual recurve competition at the Indoor Archery World Cup (Stage 2) in Bangkok. In the 2017 Asia Cup (Stage 2) in Bangkok, she faced Deepika Kumari in the women’s individual event, losing 2-6. In the same event, as a part of the women’s recurve team event, she and teammates Promia Daimary and Sakshi Rajendra Shitole lost to Chinese Taipei in the final with a score of 0-6. In 2017, she competed in the women’s recurve event at the 37th Indian Senior National Championships in Faridabad. Although she reached the finals, she faced a 6-2 loss to Deepika Kumari. At the 2017 Asia Cup (Stage 3) World Ranking Tournament in Chinese Taipei, she competed in the women’s individual, women’s team, and mixed team events. She secured a bronze medal with her partner Mukesh Boro in the mixed-team event. In 2017, during her training in Sonipat, Haryana, she was chosen as one of the 24 members to represent the Indian national team at the 2017 World Archery Youth Championships in Rosario, Argentina. In the World Youth Archery Championships, Ankita Bhakat and her partner Jemson Singh Ningthoujam competed against the Russian team in the finals of the recurve junior mixed team event, winning 6-2. They secured victories against the Korean team (5–4) in the quarter-final and the Ukrainian team (6–0) in the semi-final to reach the finals. They clinched the gold medal, securing the ninth rank in the tournament. This victory marked India’s fourth overall World Youth Championships title after a six-year gap since Deepika Kumari’s win in 2011. In April 2018, Ankita competed in the women’s individual, women’s team and mixed team recurve events in the Archery World Cup. She secured the eighth position in the individual recurve event with a score of 665 out of 720 points in the qualifications round. In the third round of the same championship, she won against Bombayla Devi Laishram with a score of 6–4, but in the fourth round, she lost to China’s An Qixuan by 4–6. In the women’s team event, she and teammates Promila Daimary and Deepika Kumara reached the quarter-finals but lost to the Chinese team by 1-5. In the mixed-team event, partnering with Atanu Das, she lost to the United States team by 4-5 in the quarter-finals. In May 2018, Ankita participated in the Archery World Cup – Stage 2 in Antalya, Turkey, competing in the women’s individual and recurve team events. In the team event, partnering with Promila Daimary and Deepika Kumari, she won the second round and the quarter-finals by defeating the French and Russian teams with scores of 5–3 and 5–1, respectively. However, the team lost to the South Korean team by 2–6 in the semi-finals. In 2021, in the Archery World Cup in Guatemala, the Indian women’s recurve team, comprising Ankita Bhakat, Deepika Kumari, and Komalika Bhari, secured a gold medal and a bronze medal in the mixed team event. In January 2022, she claimed the individual recurve women’s title at the National Archery Ranking Tournament.
Ankita Bhakat holding silver medal at the National Archery Ranking Tournament
In April 2022, Ankita clinched a gold medal and Rs. 5 lakhs in prize money at the first Khelo India Women National Ranking Archery Tournament at the JRD Tata Sports Complex.
Ankita Bhakat wins at Khelo India Women National Ranking Archery Tournament
In 2022, Ankita, along with Deepika Kumari and Simranjeet Kaur, secured a silver medal in the recurve women’s team final at the Paris Archery World Cup Stage 3.
Ankita Bhakat (right) with her team after winning silver medal at Paris Archery World Cup Stage 3
In March 2023, Ankita earned a silver medal at the 43rd NTPC Senior National Championship.
Ankita Bhakat holding silver medal at the 43rd NTPC Senior National Championship
In August 2023, the Indian recurve women’s team, comprising Bhajan Kaur, Simranjeet Kaur, and Ankita Bhakat, secured a bronze medal at the Archery World Cup Stage 4 in Paris, defeating Mexico with a score of 5-4. In October 2023, Ankita, Simranjeet and Bhajan Kaur earned a bronze medal in the women’s recurve event at the Asian Games.
Ankita Bhakat holding bronze medal at the Asian Games
Medals
- 2015: Bronze medal in the girls’ individual recurve event and a silver medal in the girls’ recurve team event at the Seoul International Youth Archery Festival
- 2017: Gold in women’s team recurve event at World Youth Archery Championship held in Rosario
- 2017: Bronze medal in the mixed-team event at the Aisa Cup
- 2021: Gold medal in the women’s recurve team event and a bronze medal in the mixed team event in the Archery World Cup in Guatemala
- 2022: Gold medal at the first Khelo India Women National Ranking Archery Tournament
- 2022: Silver medal in the recurve women’s team final at the Paris Archery World Cup Stage 3
- 2023: Silver medal at the 43rd NTPC Senior National Championship
- 2023: Bronze medal at the Archery World Cup Stage 4 in the recurve women’s team event
- 2023: Bronze in women’s team recurve event at Asian Games held in Hangzhou
