Hyderabad: Chikitha Taniparthi from Sultanpur village, Eligaid Mandal, Peddapalli District, on Tuesday, August 26, secured a gold medal at the World Youth Championship in Canada, becoming India’s first female Compound Archer to secure the Junior World Champion title.
Chikitha clinched the Under-21 Archery title by defeating Park Yerin of Korea in the finals, a victory that brings immense pride to the entire nation.
According to a press release, the 20-year-old had almost missed the historic win due to a last-minute airline strike, causing her flight to be cancelled. However, due to the timely intervention of Nirmaan Organisation and the Principal Secretary of Industries and Commerce, Jayesh Ranjan, alternate arrangements were made allowing her to reach Winnipeg in time.
Chikitha has been receiving support for the last couple of years under Project Dhanush Shakti, a CSR initiative of Inorbit Mall.
The K Raheja Corp Group company, in collaboration with Nirmaan Organisation, has been providing her with training, equipment, and mentorship.
Congratulating her on the victory, the COO of K Raheja Corporation, Shrawan Kumar Gone, stated, “Today, we are proud to see Chikitha shine as a world youth champion. Through Project Dhanush Shakti, we have been nurturing her talent for several years by providing essential equipment, training assistance, and mentoring to grow into an international champion. We congratulate her wholeheartedly on this historic gold medal and for making the entire nation proud today.”
Telangana chief minister A Revanth Reddy also congratulated Chikitha and conveyed his best wishes for her future. He stated that her journey from a rural background to excellence in archery serves as true inspiration for today’s youth.
Chikitha is a karate black belt winner who switched to archery. A World Cup Stage team silver medallist, she defeated European youth champion Paula Diaz Morillas of Spain 142-133 in the semifinals of the World Youth Archery Championships.
In the final, she beat Asian Grand Prix silver medallist Park Yerin of Korea 142-136 to earn her maiden international medal in an individual competition.
(with inputs from agencies)
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