Safar Champions Ka takes us beyond the arena and into the journeys that shape champions. For Chikitha Taniparthi, that journey began with her father’s unfulfilled sporting dream and grew into her own pursuit of excellence in compound archery.
SAFAR CHAMPIONS KA - CHIKITHA TANIPARTHI
Coming from a farmer’s family, Chikitha understands the significance of every milestone she has achieved. Her introduction to archery was closely connected to her father, Srinivas Rao, who had always wanted to become a sportsperson but could not pursue that dream due to a lack of facilities. He wanted Chikitha to stay involved in sport and encouraged her to take up an individual discipline where her performance could speak for itself.
Before archery, Chikitha was a karate athlete. She started karate in eighth grade and earned her black belt before eventually discovering archery. Her earliest experiences in the sport were simple, with Chikitha and her family practising behind their home using basic wooden equipment.
With her father’s support, she eventually took up the compound bow and began taking the sport seriously. In 2018, she set herself a clear target of winning a national medal. She trained with Abhishek Verma, who worked with her for five days on the fundamentals of anchoring and shooting. Chikitha admired his technique and tried to emulate him.
“I used to copy his shooting like I want to become like him,” she recalls.
Even while studying in Class 10 through online classes, Chikitha continued to train after her lessons. Her hard work began translating into results. In February 2021, she cleared the selection trials across the state sub junior, junior and senior categories before progressing to the national level.
She eventually won a sub junior national individual medal. For Chikitha, the achievement was deeply personal. She told Abisha Karna that she had won the medal because of what he had taught her. His response reminded her that the achievement belonged to her as much as anyone who had guided her.
“Then he told it's you it's not me.”
Her progress soon took her into the national setup and onto the international stage. Competing against some of the best young archers in the world, Chikitha reached a defining milestone in August 2025 at the World Archery Championships in Winnipeg, Canada.
She became the U21 World Champion in compound archery, making history as India’s first U21 World Champion in the category. The achievement marked a significant step in her journey and reflected years of work that had begun with a young girl practising behind her home.
As Chikitha’s ambitions grew, so did the support system around her. Her mother, Sreelata Rao, has also been part of the family support that has accompanied her journey. Her father says the support became even more comprehensive after Chikitha joined the Reliance Foundation family.
“Ever since she joined Reliance Foundation family, she has support to equipment, supplement, psychologist and plan schedule,” says Srinivas Rao.
The transition to senior international competition brought its own challenges. In 2023, Chikitha competed internationally with the senior team and later featured at the Asian Championships. She did not win a medal at the event, but the experience strengthened her resolve to train harder with the Asian Games trials ahead.
For Chikitha, setbacks are simply another part of the journey. She has learnt to accept both sides of competitive sport while continuing to look forward.
“When you accept good, you have to accept bad also,” she says.
From practising behind her home to representing India on the international stage, Chikitha Taniparthi’s Safar Champions Ka story is rooted in a father’s dream, a family’s support and her own determination to build a sporting journey of her own.
“Everything is good now and I'm looking forward for Asian games.”