KOLKATA: India will field a new-look archery squad at the upcoming Asian Games, scheduled to begin in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, on September 19. The selection trials, which concluded on Monday at the SAI Sonepat centre in Haryana, saw Olympian couple Deepika Kumari and Atanu Das fail to secure a spot in the main team.
Selection Process
The top three archers in each category were named in the Asian Games squad, while the fourth-ranked archer will compete in World Cup Stage 3 and 4 events. These tournaments are set for Antalya, Turkey (June 9-14) and Madrid, Spain (July 7-12), respectively.
Both Deepika and Atanu finished fourth in the recurve women's and men's categories, earning places in the World Cup sides. Deepika also missed the previous Asian Games, while Atanu will not be part of the team this time. Olympian Dhiraj Bommadevara remains the only recurve archer from the last Games.
Compound Archery Surprises
Star compound archer Abhishek Verma and former World champion Ojas Deotale also failed to secure a berth among the top four archers after the four-day trials. Deotale had won three gold medals at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games, while Verma had bagged a gold and a silver. The Indian challenge will once again be led by compound women's archer Jyothi Vennam, who will participate in her fourth consecutive Asian Games.
Recurve Women's Team
The recurve women's team features Olympian Ankita Bhakat as the only face from Hangzhou, alongside rising talents Kumkum Mohod and Kirti Sharma.
India Squads
Compound Women (Asian Games): Jyothi Vennam, Chikitha, Prithika. (World Cup): Parneet.
Compound Men (Asian Games): Sahil Jadhav, Kushal Dalal, Ganesh Ratnam. (World Cup): Rishabh Yadav.
Recurve Women (Asian Games): Kirti Sharma, Kumkum Mohod, Ankita Bhakat. (World Cup): Deepika Kumari.
Recurve Men (Asian Games): Dhiraj Bommadevara, Neeraj Chauhan, Yashdeep Bhoge. (World Cup): Atanu Das.
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