CM Bhajan Lal congratulates India's gold-winning archers at Asian Games 2026
Synopsis
Rajasthan CM Bhajan Lal Sharma congratulated Jyoti Surekha Vennam, Prithika Pradeep, and Taniparthi Chikitha after the trio won gold in the women's compound team archery event at the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.
Key Takeaways
India won gold in the women's compound team archery event at Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.
The winning trio comprised Jyoti Surekha Vennam , Prithika Pradeep , and Taniparthi Chikitha .
Rajasthan CM Bhajan Lal Sharma posted congratulations on September 30, 2026, calling the athletes 'warrior-women' and a source of immense national pride.
Jyoti Surekha Vennam is India's most decorated compound archer and the anchor of the squad.
India's compound archery programme has shown consistent growth at the continental level over the last decade.
The gold adds to India's medal tally at a Games that also feeds momentum toward future Olympic qualification cycles.
Three Indian women raised their bows, steadied their breath, and delivered gold — and on Wednesday, September 30, 2026, Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma was among the first political voices to celebrate their triumph, congratulating the country's compound archery trio for their stunning performance at the Asian Games 2026.
The trio that struck gold for India
The gold medal in the women's compound team archery event went to Jyoti Surekha Vennam, Prithika Pradeep, and Taniparthi Chikitha — three names now etched into the Asian Games record books. CM Sharma hailed their achievement in Hindi, writing: 'अद्वितीय कौशल, अडिग एकाग्रता और सटीक संधान' — 'unmatched skill, unwavering concentration and precise aim' — calling them veeranganaon, or warrior-women, and declaring that 'the entire nation is filled with immense pride' in their achievement.
Jyoti Surekha Vennam is the most decorated of the three, a compound archery stalwart who has collected international medals across World Archery Championships and earlier Asian Games cycles. Prithika Pradeep and Taniparthi Chikitha have been steadily rising through the national team ranks, appearing in continental-level team and individual events. Together, they form a formidable unit that has now delivered on the biggest stage in Asia.
India's compound archery rise — a decade in the making
This gold is not a bolt from the blue. Over the last decade, India's compound archery programme has built quietly and deliberately — expanding national selection pools, sharpening team-event strategies, and channelling resources into both individual and team formats. The result has been a consistent upward curve in medal outcomes at the continental level, even as global attention stays fixed on recurve archery's Olympic profile.
The Asian Games 2026, hosted at Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, have already offered India significant opportunities across non-Olympic disciplines, and the women's compound gold adds another bright line to the country's growing multi-sport tally. It also signals the depth of India's archery bench — that three athletes could arrive at an Asian Games and execute flawlessly as a unit speaks to structural improvement, not just individual brilliance.
Eyes now on 2028 and the qualification trail
Compound archery does not feature at the Olympics, but the momentum built here matters: performance in Asian Games cycles feeds confidence, rankings, and institutional investment back into the programme. The Indian archery contingent still has remaining events to contest at these Games, and qualification cycles for Paris 2028 in recurve formats will draw on the broader infrastructure these results help sustain.
CM Sharma closed his congratulatory message with a charge to the champions: 'नए प्रतिमान गढ़ती रहें और भारत का मस्तक ऊंचा रखें' — 'keep setting new benchmarks and keep India's head held high.' Three women, three arrows, one gold. They already have.
Point of View
But it signals something structural: mainstream political capital is increasingly aligned with women's performance sport in India, not merely cricket. Jyoti Surekha Vennam's compound archery gold — in a discipline outside the Olympic programme — underlines that India's medal ambitions now span a wider competitive canvas. The sustained investment in team-format archery is beginning to yield compounding returns at Asian Games level, a pattern that gives administrators and selectors a credible case for deeper funding ahead of the 2028 cycle.
NationPress
30 Sept 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won gold in women's compound archery at Asian Games 2026?
India's team of Jyoti Surekha Vennam, Prithika Pradeep, and Taniparthi Chikitha won gold in the women's compound team archery event at the Asian Games 2026.
Where are the Asian Games 2026 being held?
The Asian Games 2026 are being held in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.
Who is Jyoti Surekha Vennam?
Jyoti Surekha Vennam is India's leading compound archer, with multiple international medals from World Archery Championships and earlier Asian Games cycles. She anchored the 2026 gold-medal team.
What did CM Bhajan Lal Sharma say about the Indian archers?
Rajasthan CM Bhajan Lal Sharma praised the trio for their 'unmatched skill, unwavering concentration and precise aim,' called them 'warrior-women,' and said the entire nation is filled with immense pride in their achievement.
Is compound archery part of the Olympics?
No, compound archery is not part of the Olympic programme. The Olympics feature recurve archery. However, Asian Games success in compound events boosts India's broader archery infrastructure and investment.
