17-year-old Aditi Gopichand Swami bags Breakthrough Archer of 2023 award

Young Indian compound archer Aditi Gopichand Swami won the Breakthrough Archer of the Year 2023 award by the sports's global governing body, World Archery, on Sunday, February 4.

At the tender age of 17, Aditi became the youngest archer to win gold medal at the 2023 World Archery Championship in Berlin, Germany, last year. She defeated Mexico's Andrea Becerra. In the same event, she paired with Jyothi Surekha Vennam and Parneet Kaur to bag the women's team gold.

Aditi also won both individual and team gold at the 2023 World Archery Youth Championship in Limerick, Ireland.

The Satara-born youngster clinched gold medal in the women's team event at the Asian Games apart from bronze in the individual event.

Congratulating the youngster on the achievement, Indian sports minister Anurag Thakur tweeted:

"Many congratulations to Aditi Gopichand Swami on winning the World Archery Breakthrough Archer of 2023 Award."

"2023 has been a phenomenal year for Aditi, showcasing her exceptional talent and amazing consistency. She became first Indian and the Youngest World Champion, along with winning medals at the Asian Games," he added.

Aditi Gopichand Swami's journey to archery

Aditi Gopichand Swami is the daughter of a mathematics teacher in a Maharashtra government school in Satara. According to a report from The Quint, her father once took her to a multi-sporting event at the age of 10.

She was enamoured with archery, having been inspired by the folklores of Ramayana and Mahabharat, particularly by Lord Ram and Arjuna.

Her father took a loan of ₹10 lakh to buy expensive equipment. Gopichand Swami's half salary would go into clearing the loans but the efforts reaped rewards when Aditi earned a call to the Indian compound team just a few months before she turned 16.

She won her first individual medal at the biggest level in the Sharjah leg of the Asia Cup 2022, where she beat compatriot Parneet Kaur en route to winning silver.