After Asian Games glory, India’s archers gear up for APL franchise battle in Hyderabad
Hyderabad, Oct 5 (TNT): Fresh from a nine-medal haul, including five golds, at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, India’s top archers will return to action as rivals when the second season of the Archery Premier League (APL) begins here on October 8.
The Asian Games campaign saw several Indian archers make their mark, with 17-year-old Kumkum Anil Mohod becoming the first Indian to win an individual Asian Games gold in recurve archery.
Jyothi Surekha Vennam helped India retain the women’s team gold, while Sahil Rajesh Jadhav won two gold medals.
The APL Season 2 will be held from October 8 to 18 at People’s Plaza on Necklace Road, featuring 48 archers across six franchises, with an equal number of men and women competing in recurve and compound events, Archery Association of India (AAI) said in a release on Monday.
A 15-second shot clock will add an additional test of speed and decision-making.
Kumkum and Sahil will team up for Chero Archers alongside Denmark’s Mathias Fullerton and two-time Olympian Atanu Das.
Chola Chiefs will feature Asian Games double gold medallist Chikitha Taniparthi alongside Brazil’s Marcus D’Almeida, four-time Olympian Deepika Kumari and World Championships silver medallist Rajat Chauhan.
Defending champions Rajputana Royals will seek to retain the title with Tokyo Olympic champion Mete Gazoz and British compound archer Ella Gibson, along with Asian Games gold medallist Ankita Bhakat and former world champion Ojas Pravin Deotale.
Mighty Marathas will field Asian Games silver medallist Dhiraj Bommadevara, Dutch compound archer Mike Schloesser and Mexican Olympic medallist Alejandra Valencia, while Kakatiya Knights will be led by multiple Asian Games gold medallist Jyothi Surekha Vennam.
Prithviraaj Yodhas will rely on Andrea Becerra and former Asian Games gold medallist Abhishek Verma, with Matias Grande, Gatha Anandrao Khadake and Asian Games women’s recurve team gold medallist Kirti Sharma also in the squad.
APL Director Anil Kamineni said the Asian Games success had provided an exciting backdrop for the second season, with Indian medallists now competing across rival franchises alongside leading international archers.
“The quality of the squads and the demands of the 15-second format should make for a closely contested league, while giving Indian archers another valuable competitive opportunity,” he said.
AAI Secretary General Virender Sachdeva said the league would help Indian archers build on their international performances through regular competition with Olympic and world champions and inspire the next generation to take up the sport.
The six-team league, launched in 2025 by the Archery Association of India, brings together Indian and foreign recurve and compound archers in a mixed team format.
The six franchises are Chero Archers of Jharkhand, Chola Chiefs of Tamil Nadu, Kakatiya Knights of Telangana, Mighty Marathas of Maharashtra, PrithviRaj Yodhas of Delhi and Rajputana Royals of Rajasthan.
The matches will be streamed live on Sony Liv, World Archery TV and the Archery Association of India’s YouTube channels from October 8 to 18.
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