Deepika Kumari is one of the top archers in India. Deepika, like many other sportspersons, has a humble background. She was born on June 13, 1994, in Ranchi, Jharkhand to Shivnath Mahato, an auto-rickshaw driver and Geeta Mahato who works as a nurse at the Ranchi Medical College. Deepika, who is currently ranked ninth in the world, is celebrating her birthday today. As the India's top-ranked woman archer turns 26, we take a look at some of her achievements and lesser-known facts.

  • Deepika got her first breakthrough in 2005 after enrolling at the Arjun Archery Academy.

  • In 2006, Deepika Kumari began her professional archery career after joining the Tata Archery Academy in Jamshedpur. She received a monthly stipend of Rs. 500 at that time.

  • In 2009, Deepika became the second Indian archer after Palton Hansda to win the Cadet World Archery Championship title.

  • At 15, Deepika won the 11th Youth World Archery Championship in the USA.

  • At the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, Deepika won two gold medals. One in an individual event and the other in a women's team recurve event.

  • In 2012, Deepika won her first Archery World Cup gold medal in an individual recurve event at Antalya, Turkey. She beat Korea's Lee Sung-Jin in the final.

  • In June 2012, Deepika attained the world number one ranking in archery.

  • Deepika received the Arjuna Award, India's second-highest sporting award, in 2012.

  • In 2014, She won the FICCI Sportsperson of the Year Award.

  • Deepika was also honoured Padma Shri, India's fourth-highest civilian honour, in 2016.

  • In 2018, Deepika got engaged to Indian archer Atanu Das. The couple could get married this year.

Deepika last year qualified for the Tokyo Olympics 2020 after winning gold in the finals of women's recurve archery event at the Asian Continental Qualification Tournament in Bangkok. Summer Olympics 2020 was scheduled to be held in Tokyo, Japan this year, but due to coronavirus, the Games have now been postponed to 2021.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 13, 2020 08:00 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).