User:Priyanka Dhanie

Priyanka Dhanie
Priyanka Dhanie is a former elite athlete of Trinidad and Tobago who was the highest ranked Compound Female Archer in the Southern Caribbean during her years of competing. After breaking numerous National Records, and representing TTO across the Region and Internationally, she went on to read for a degree at University of the West Indies, Cave Hill with a BSc. Sports Science with concentrations in Exercise Science and Coaching. She completed the program with first class honours after being the recipient of the University’s very first Student-Athlete Award. Her focus is on psychological skills development in sports and she has a passion for helping individuals with mental health conditions. Through her studies and passion for psychology, she wants to help children and athletes manage emotions, challenge negative thinking patterns, improve relationship skills, and reduce stress and anxiety – all of which improves mental health. Presently, she is a student member of AASP and is in the process of becoming a student member of the CSPA as well.

Early Career
After her debut in 2014, she competed at regional and international levels in the sport of target archery for years. Although being the age of a Cadet Archer, she was moved up to the Junior Category where she competed against the previous Record Holder for the Junior Category. Priyanka won gold, breaking a nine year standing National Record. After the first day of seeing her shoot, the President of the Trinidad and Tobago Target Archery Federation invited her to compete in the Senior Compound Female Team for the Multi-Site Indoor Championships of the Americas (MICA). The team of female compound archers won silver, the first time the country's female team medaled in this event. This was the beginning of her sporting career. She spent the rest of the competitive year breaking records in the category. After her first year of competing, she was nominated for the First Citizens Sports Foundation's Female Youth Athlete of the Year. This same year, she was awarded Junior Female Archer of the Year 2014, by the Trinidad and Tobago Target Archery Federation.