India is a country where hardly any other sport is as celebrated as cricket is. And in such a country, a 17 year old Aditi Swami is making headlines for creating history. The player who hails from Satara in Maharashtra has hit the headlines for becoming the first ever Indian world champion. She did it by winning gold in the compound archery category in World Archery Championships in Berlin last week, by defeating the Mexican opponent Andrea Becerra.

Just a month ago, Aditi was crowned as the U-18 double world champion, with an individual gold as well a team gold. And continuing her purple patch of form, she started off in the senior world championship exactly from where she left off in Youth world championship. Her focus was immaculate. The fact that 4 of her sets went for all the shots going for 10 points show what kind of zone she was in. Out of the 15 attempts, 14 of her overall attempts went for a perfect 10. A tally of 149 points saw her emerge as a champion in the senior women's compound archery championship. And with it, she has created history by becoming the youngest world champion ever in the game of modern archery.

The teenage sensation who hails from Satara, has made India proud. Speaking about the gold post the match, she said,"It was my dream to hear the national anthem with me on the podium. I am glad to have done it in the youth as well as senior championship. I would like to continue like this for long and keep winning medals for my country". The youngest world champion also further went on to thank her coaches, family members and everyone who supported her in her journey from a dreamer to achiever.

Today the world knows and is impressed by the way she shoots. However, initially it was not the case. A retired police constable Pravin Sawant, who started his academy as a coach in order to train athletes in this sport, was not much impressed with Aditi's shooting skills. It was only after some time, when he witnessed a young Aditi's dedication towards the game when he was impressed by her. He was awestruck by the stubbornness of the young girl, and her will to work hard. And seeing all the factors, he knew that the girl he was initially not impressed by, would make her mark at the highest level.

Her coach made her the star she is today. And her father pioneered her journey to achieve what she dreamt of. Gopichand Swami, a teacher by profession was keen to see his daughter play any sport. In an attempt to do so, he went to Satara's Chatrapati Shahu Maharaj Sports Stadium to introduce her to various sports played in the arena. He showed Aditi various sports including the athletics, when she saw some people practicing archery in one corner of the stadium. And it garnered the attention of 12 year old Aditi, who then decided to play the game. Her supportive father immediately enrolled her for archery, and some time later she started to practice with her coach Pravin Sawant.

Both, Aditi's father and coach were always supportive of what she does. And she never disappointed them. A true dedicated archer, she never missed a single day of practice since she took up the game. When her game upped, she faced the challenge of buying own professional bow, but her father overcame it by getting some loans. When she was peaking with her skill sets, covid struck. Even then, she never missed practice for a single day as she made her set up in the front yard of her house. And all her hardwork, combined with support from her father as well as her coach showed results post covid in 2022. And today, at the mere age of 17, here she is crowned as the world champion, and already considered a prodigy. Aditi's story is a tale of extreme hardwork, grit, focus and dedication. She is an inspiration not just to the women, but also to everyone who dreams big. And in process, she made billions proud of her achievement. We congratulate the world champion and wish to see her inspire everyone with her further achievements.