Adorned Indian archer Jyothi Surekha Vennam after Saturday scripted history again for Indian sports. She became the first Indian woman compound archer to claim a medal at the World Cup Final when she won the bronze medal with a perfect show against world No. 2 Great Britain’s Ella Gibson. Her victory is another golden page in a career that is all about consistency, accuracy, and grit.
Who is Jyothi Surekha Vennam?
Born on 3 July 1996 in Challapalli, Andhra Pradesh, Jyothi Surekha Vennam is a compound archer from India who has become one of the brightest stars of the sport. She is World No. 2 (2024) and holds the mixed team world record score of 1431 points (set in 2025 with Rishabh Yadav).
A Koneru Lakshmaiah University graduate with a Bachelor of Technology and MBA, Jyothi started taking up sports as a young child swimming sensation. She swam 5 km in the Krishna River at just five years of age in 3 hours and 20 minutes and entered the Limca Book of Records as the youngest to have done so. Switching to archery at the age of 11 turned the course of her sporting life upside down.
How many medals has Jyothi Surekha won?
Jyothi started competing at the junior level and made her international debut in 2011, where she secured a bronze medal at the Asian Archery Championships in Tehran. She then established herself as a powerful force in the compound event, winning medals in every major international competition.
Her career achievements include:
- World Championships: 1 Gold, 5 Silver, 3 Bronze
- Asian Games: 3 Gold, 1 Silver, 1 Bronze
- World Cup: 11 Gold, 7 Silver, 8 Bronze
- Asian Championships: 5 Gold, 5 Silver, 2 Bronze
She is also the first Indian to have three silver medals in one World Championship (2021) and won three golds at the 2022 Asian Games, the first-ever Indian archer to achieve that.
What makes Jyothi Surekha’s World Cup Final medal win bigger?
During the 2025 World Cup Final, Jyothi proved nerves of steel, firing 15 flawless arrows in her bronze medal contest against Ella Gibson to win 150–145. Previously, she lost a nail-biter semifinal to world No. 1 Andrea Becerra (143–145) after dominating for most of the match.
This bronze marked her first-ever World Cup Final podium finish and India’s best result in the women’s compound category in the tournament’s history. It was Jyothi’s third World Cup Final appearance, after previous outings in 2022 (Tlaxcala) and 2023 (Hermosillo).
Jyothi Surekha’s Awards
Her excellence has been widely recognized:
- Arjuna Award (2017) by the Government of India
- Golden Target Award (2013) by World Archery Federation
- TOISA Archer of the Year (2021) by The Times of India
- ESPN India’s Female Athlete of the Year (2023)
Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu rewarded her with a ₹1 crore cash award and a piece of housing land in Vijayawada or Amaravati in 2017.
Why is Jyothi Surekha vital for India’s Olympic aspirations?
Even though compound archery is not an Olympic sport, it will make its Olympic debut at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, providing Jyothi with a chance to give India its first Olympic archery medal in history.
With her perfect form, world record, and mental strength, Jyothi Surekha Vennam is India’s strongest bet to rule the world when the sport makes its much-awaited Olympic debut.
