Who is Parneet Kaur? Meet the archer who helped India win the compound team gold medal at Asian Games 2023

A nail-biting final in the women's compound team event saw India clinch the gold medal by the narrowest of margins at the 2023 Asian Games.

On Thursday, October 5, in Hangzhou, China, the Indian women's team of Jyothi Surekha Vennam, Aditi Swami, and Parneet Kaur showed great resilience to deliver a flawless performance under pressure.

The trio, also reigning world champions, scored a perfect 60 out of 60 in the last end to secure top honors, beating third-seeded Taiwan by just one point. The final score read 230-229.

This marks India's second archery gold medal at the ongoing Asian Games, following Jyothi and Ojas Deotale's victory in the compound mixed team event on Wednesday.

With a total of five medals in archery at the quadrennial event, this is India's best performance in the sport across all editions. Their previous best was three medals (one gold, one silver, and one bronze) secured in 2014 in Incheon, South Korea.

Previously, Surekha, Aditi, and Parneet beat fourth-seeded Indonesia (Ratih Zilizati Fadhly, Syahara Khoerunisa, and Sri Ranti) 233-219 in the semifinals and overcame Hong Kong 231-220 in the quarterfinals.

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Who is Parneet Kaur?

Parneet Kaur hails from the Mansa district in the state of Maharashtra. Like her teammate Aditi Swami, she is a prodigious talent who has risen quickly in archery.

Parneet, who studied at the Multipurpose Senior Secondary School in Patiala, had the support of her family in pursuing sports. Her father, Avtar, is a government teacher in Sanaur near Patiala and initially encouraged her to try various sports as a hobby.

At the age of 16, she had two world records. In August 2021, she was part of the Indian team, alongside Priya Gurjar and Ritu Varshini, that set a new team record in the Cadet category at the Youth World Archery Championships with a score of 2067 (out of 2160).

Later in November, Parneet scored 700 (out of 720) in the Cadet category in Dhaka. Now, at the age of 18, she has achieved success at the highest level on the continental stage, winning the women's compound team gold medal at the ongoing Asian Games.