Jyothi Surekha
Indian compound archer with world championship and Asian Games gold medals.
Jyothi Surekha Vennam, born on 3 July 1996, is an Indian archer specializing in the compound discipline—an event not yet in the Olympics but set to debut at the 2028 Los Angeles Games. She has claimed gold at the World Championships, World Cup, Asian Games, and Asian Championships. In 2025, alongside Rishabh Yadav, she set a mixed team world record of 1431 at that year’s World Cup.
Hailing from Challapalli in Krishna district, Andhra Pradesh, she is the daughter of Vennam Surendra Kumar, a former Kabaddi player and veterinary doctor, and Sri Durga. She began swimming at age three, and in 2001, at just five years old, she swam 5 kilometers across the Krishna River in three hours, twenty minutes, and six seconds, becoming the youngest to enter the Limca Book of Records. She completed her schooling at Nalanda Vidya Niketan in Vijayawada, then earned a B.Tech. and an MBA from Koneru Lakshmaiah University.
Surekha took up archery at age 11, competing at junior levels. In 2011, she won a bronze at the Asian Archery Championships in Tehran. Two years later, she secured two bronze medals at the World Archery Youth Championships in Wuxi, China. Across five Asian Archery Championships, she has collected four gold, four silver, and two bronze medals. At multiple Archery World Cups, her tally stands at five gold, four silver, and seven bronze. At the 2021 World Archery Championships, she became the first Indian to win three silver medals; overall, she has one gold, four silver, and three bronze from World Championships. In January 2022, she topped the Women’s Open Pro event at the Lancaster Archery Classic in Pennsylvania. At the 2022 Asian Games (held in 2023), she won three gold medals, becoming the first Indian to achieve multiple golds in archery.
Her honors include the Pratibha Puraskar from the Government of Andhra Pradesh (2001), an Exceptional Achievement Award from the Government of India (2002), the Golden Target Award from the World Archery Federation (2013), the Arjuna Award (2017), the TOISA Archer of the Year (2021), and ESPN India’s Female Athlete of the Year. In 2017, then Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu awarded her a cash prize of INR 1 crore and a 500-square-yard housing site in Vijayawada or Amaravati.
Quick Facts
- Full Name
- Jyothi Surekha Vennam
- Birth Date
- 3 July 1996
- Birth Place
- Challapalli, Andhra Pradesh, India
- Education
- Master of Business Administration / Bachelor of Technology / K L University
- Sport
- Archery
- Event
- Compound
- Highest Ranking
- 2 (2024)
- Personal Best
- Individual: 715 (2025) / Mixed team: 1431 WR (2025)
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Jyothi Surekha Vennam was born in Challapalli, Krishna district, Andhra Pradesh, to Vennam Surendra Kumar and Sri Durga. Her father, a former Kabaddi player and veterinary doctor, supported her early athletic pursuits. She began swimming at age 3 and in 2001 swam 5 km across the Krishna River in three hours, 20 minutes and six seconds, becoming the youngest to enter the Limca Book of Records. She completed her schooling at Nalanda Vidya Niketan, Vijayawada, and earned a B.Tech. and MBA at Koneru Lakshmaiah University.
She started practicing archery at age 11 and won a bronze medal at the 2011 Asian Archery Championships in Tehran. In 2013, she won two bronze medals at the World Archery Youth Championships in Wuxi, China. She has competed in five Asian Archery Championships, winning four gold, four silver, and two bronze medals, and in multiple Archery World Cups, winning five gold, four silver, and seven bronze medals. At the 2021 World Archery Championships, she won three silver medals, becoming the first Indian to do so. In 2023, she won three gold medals at the 2022 Asian Games, becoming the first Indian to win multiple gold medals in archery.
Reader's Guide
Jyothi Surekha Vennam's career marks a series of firsts for Indian archery. She was the first Indian to win three silver medals at a single World Archery Championships (2021) and the first Indian to win multiple gold medals in archery at the Asian Games (2022). Her mixed team world record of 1431 with Rishabh Yadav at the 2025 World Cup underscores her elite level in the compound discipline, which will debut at the 2028 LA Olympics. Her achievements span World Championships, World Cup, Asian Games, and Asian Championships, demonstrating sustained excellence across major international competitions. Her recognition includes the Arjuna Award (2017), the Golden Target award from the World Archery Federation (2013), and a cash prize and housing site from the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh in 2017. She has also been named TOISA Archer of the Year and ESPN India's Female Athlete of the Year. Her progression from a record-setting young swimmer to a world-class archer highlights a versatile athletic background.
Did You Know?
- She swam 5 km across the Krishna River at age 5, setting a Limca Book of Records entry.
- She won three silver medals at the 2021 World Archery Championships, a first for an Indian.
- She won three gold medals at the 2022 Asian Games, the first Indian archer to win multiple golds at the Games.
- In 2025, she and Rishabh Yadav set the mixed team world record of 1431 at the World Cup.
More in World Archery Championships Medalists, Part 2 1-24
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