Deepika Kumari is an Indian archer. She was born on 13 June 1994 in Ranchi, Jharkhand. Her zodiac sign is Gemini. Her father’s name is Shivnarayan Mahto; he used to work as an auto rickshaw driver. Her mother Geeta Mahto is a nurse. Her family calls her Deepa.

Deepika is married to Atanu Das.

Deepika’s favourites

Her favourite actors are Irfan Khan and Shah Rukh Khan.

She likes to eat chicken curry. 

Deepika owns a Renault Duster car. 

Interesting facts about Deepika

Deepika nurtured a dream of becoming an archer since childhood. 

Deepika Kumari participated in the Raikela archery competition in Jharkhand. She could not secure a position in the competition and was left disappointed. Her father encouraged her to try participating in other competitions. 

In the year 2005, she joined the ‘Arjun Archery Academy’. The academy was founded by Meera Munda, wife of the then Chief Minister Arjun Munda.

In 2006, she joined the ‘Jamshedpur Tata Archery Academy’. During her training, she received a stipend of Rs 500. 

International games

In the year 2009, at the age of 15, Deepika participated in the 11th Youth World Archery Championship held in Ogden City, Utah, USA and won the championship. 

In 2010, Deepika won a gold medal in the Commonwealth Games in the women’s individual recurve event. 

In May 2012, she won a gold medal at the Archery World Cup Championships held in Antalya, Turkey.

In the year 2012, Deepika Kumari was appointed as the manager of the sports department of Tata Steel Company. At that time, she was also the member of Indian archery team. 

‘Arjun Award’ and ‘Padma Shri’

The same year, the then President on India, Pranab Mukherjee honoured her with the prestigious ‘Arjun Award’. Deepika is the youngest archer to receive the award. 

In 2016, Deepika secured first position in the qualifying event of the Archery World Cup Championship held in Shanghai, China.

The Government of India honoured her with ‘Padma Shri’ in the year 2016.

Deepika’s marriage

Deepika had first met Atanu Das in the year 2008 at the academy. They took part in many championships together and started dating each other in 2016. 

Deepika Kumari and Atanu Das got engaged in 2018. 

On 30 June 2020, the two married each other. The wedding ceremony was also attended by the Chief Minister Hemant Soren. 

Winning gold medals for the country

From 2011 to 2021, Deepika won about 30 medals for the country including 10 gold medals in the World Cup. She also won medals in international archery sports competitions like World Championship, Commonwealth and Asian Games.

In 2021, Deepika made an amazing record by winning three gold medals in a single day during the Paris Archery World Cup Stage 3 tournament. She also won the gold medal in the mixed event with her husband. 

In 2021, Deepika Kumari was selected by the India Archery Women's Team for the Tokyo Olympic Archery Sports Competition.