Deepika, Abhishek, Jyothi among Indian stars for inaugural Archery Premier League

New Delhi: Olympian recurve archers Deepika Kumari and Dhiraj Bommadevara, world record-holding pair of compound archers Rishabh Yadav and Jyothi Surekha Vennam, along with veteran Abhishek Verma, are among the top Indian archers for the inaugural edition of the Archery Premier League.

The inaugural edition of the Archery Premier League, which will take place over a 11-day period in October this year at the Yamuna Sports Complex, New Delhi. Apart from the Indian players, the league will also see participation from the top-ranked international archers, who will be divided among the six franchises.

In order to include the top elite players from around the world for the first edition, Archery Association of India (AAI) have placed archers across various categories based on World Top 10 rankings, Top 20 rankings, followed by archers ranked as per the AAI’s recently held selection trials.

Four-time Olympian Deepika (World No. 3) and Paris Olympian Bommadevara (World No. 14) have entered their names into the fray. World Record-holding pair of compound archers Rishabh (World No. 9) and Jyothi Surekha (World No. 3) have also confirmed their participation along with World No. 10 Abhishek Verma, World No. 11 Prathamesh Bhalchandra Fuge, World No. 16 Priyansh, and World No. 17 Parneet Kaur, AAI said in a release.

AAI also said that based on a trial held by AAI recently, veteran Olympians Tarundeep Rai (Rank No. 4) and Atanu Das (Rank No. 5) will also be among the recurve participants, while the women’s recurve archers list includes Ankita Bhakat (Rank No. 2) and Bhajan Kaur (Rank No. 6), who were part of India’s contingent at the Paris Olympics last year.

President of the Archery Association of India, Arjun Munda said, “We are delighted to have the presence of India’s best archers in the first season of the Archery Premier League. We are confident their presence will drive eyeballs to the sport and ensure a high level of competition. It will further make the league an exciting venture for the fans around the nation.”

AAI secretary general Virendra Sachdeva, said, “Indian archers have long been making their mark on the world stage. It is because of their success we are able to be in a position to launch the first edition of Archery Premier League. We are excited to have them participate in this elite competition and make the tournament a must-watch for fans around the world,”

With recurve and compound archers shooting 70m and 50m, respectively, together under lights, the league will boost the confidence of Indian archers and raise their performance level, supporting the nation’s Olympic movement. IANS

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