Dola Banerjee facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Dola Banerjee

Personal information
Nationality	Indian
Born	(1980-06-02) 2 June 1980 (age 45) Baranagar, North 24 Parganas district, West Bengal, India
Occupation	Sportsperson (Archer)
Medal record Women's recurve archery Representing  India Asian Games Bronze 2010 Guangzhou Team Asian Championships Bronze 2005 New Delhi Team Bronze 2007 Xi'an Team World Cup Gold 2007 Dubai Individual Commonwealth Games Gold 2010 New Delhi Team Bronze 2010 New Delhi Individual

Dola Banerjee (born June 2, 1980) is a famous Indian archer. She is a talented sportswoman who has won many medals for her country in archery competitions.

Early Life and Archery Start

Dola Banerjee was born in Baranagar, a town near Kolkata, India. Her parents are Ashok and Kalpana Banerjee. She went to Baranagar Rajkumari Memorial Girls High School.

Dola started learning archery at the Baranagar Archery Club when she was just eight years old. She began in 1990, at the age of nine. Her first time competing internationally was at the Youth World Championship in San Diego in 1996. She was 16 years old then.

Dola Banerjee's Archery Career

Dola Banerjee (right) receiving her bronze medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

Since 1996, Dola has been a regular member of the Indian women's archery team. She has represented India in over 50 international competitions. These include two Olympic Games, three Asian Games, and one Commonwealth Games. She has won more than 16 gold, 3 silver, and 8 bronze medals for India.

Olympic Games Appearances

Dola Banerjee competed for India at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. She ranked 13th in the individual event. However, she lost in the first round of elimination. She was also part of the Indian women's archery team that finished 8th.

She also represented India at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. She competed in both the individual and team events. In the team event, she played with Pranitha Vardhineni and Bombayala Devi. They were ranked sixth but lost in the quarterfinals to China. In the individual event, she was ranked 31st. She lost in a tie-break match.

World Cup Success

Dola won her second international gold medal in August 2007. This was at the fourth stage of the Meteksan World Cup archery event in Dover, England. Winning this event meant she qualified for the World Cup Final.

In November 2007, Dola Banerjee became a world champion in archery. She won the gold medal in the women's individual recurve competition. This big win happened at the Archery World Cup Final in Dubai.

Commonwealth Games Achievements

At the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, Dola Banerjee had great success. She won a gold medal in the women's team recurve event. Her teammates were Deepika Kumari and L Bombayala Devi.

She also won a bronze medal in the individual recurve event at the same games.

National Level Contributions

Dola Banerjee has also achieved a lot at the national level in India. She has won over 52 gold, 21 silver, and 8 bronze medals. When she played at the Junior National Level, she was incredibly dominant. She won 19 gold, 5 silver, and 6 bronze medals in all categories. This means she won 30 medals out of a possible 30.

The Government of India honored Dola Banerjee with the Arjuna award in 2005. This award is given for excellent contributions to sports. She was the second woman archer to receive this special award.

Dola has also been involved in sports development. She was a member of the Sports Development body of the West Bengal Government starting in July 2011. She helped develop sports in her home state. She was also part of a committee for Youth Affairs and Sports for a national plan.

She continues to be active with the Baranagar Archery Club. This is the club where she first started her archery journey. She helps develop the sport there.

Currently, Dola Banerjee works for the Eastern Railways. She has also traveled with the Railways Sports Promotion Board. She was part of their team for the London Olympics in 2012 and the Rio Olympics in 2016.

Major Achievements

• Received the Arjuna Award in 2005.
• First Indian woman archer to qualify for the individual event at the 2004 Athens Olympics.
• Won individual gold at the 2007 World Cup and the World Cup Final in the same year.
• Won gold at the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
• Won a team bronze medal at the Asian Games in 2010.

Personal Life

Dola Banerjee is married to Medhadeep Banerjee, who works in the corporate world. They have a son named Diyan. Her younger brother, Rahul Banerjee, is also a famous archer. He has also competed in the Olympics and received the Arjuna Award. Dola is also a cousin of the popular singers Shaan and Sagarika.

See Also

• Archery at the 2010 Commonwealth Games
• Indian Squad for 2008 Olympics