The APL, a six-team franchise-based tournament, is being hailed as a groundbreaking global initiative in the sport. Scheduled to take place in October at the Yamuna Sports Complex in New Delhi, the 11-day event will bring together the finest names in recurve and compound archery, both from India and around the world, as reported by PTI earlier
Deepika Kumari (Pic: AFP)
India's top archery talents, including Olympians Deepika Kumari, Dhiraj Bommadevara, Jyothi Surekha Vennam, and Abhishek Verma, are set to headline the inaugural edition of the Archery Premier League (APL), the Archery Association of India (AAI) confirmed on Monday.
The APL, a six-team franchise-based tournament, is being hailed as a groundbreaking global initiative in the sport. Scheduled to take place in October at the Yamuna Sports Complex in New Delhi, the 11-day event will bring together the finest names in recurve and compound archery, both from India and around the world, as reported by PTI earlier.
Unlike traditional formats, the inaugural season is expected to adopt a draft system to form the teams, rather than a player auction. Each franchise will feature eight archers, four men and four women. Of the eight, teams can sign up to two foreign players, with at least one overseas athlete required to feature in the playing four. The recurve and compound archers will shoot 70m and 50m respectively in a unique team format under floodlights.
The Indian archers were picked based on world rankings as well as Archery Association of India's recent selection trials. In recurve, world No. 3 Deepika and world No. 14 Dhiraj headline the field, alongside veterans Tarundeep Rai and Atanu Das. Other women recurve archers include Ankita Bhakat and Bhajan Kaur, while the men's line-up features Neeraj Chauhan, Rahul, Rohit Kumar, Mrinal Chauhan, Sachin Gupta and Krish Kumar.
In compound, world record-holder Jyothi Surekha Vennam (No. 3) and world No. 9 Rishabh Yadav lead the charge. They are joined by veteran Abhishek (No. 10), Prathamesh Bhalchandra Fuge (No. 11), Priyansh (No. 16) and Parneet Kaur (No. 17).
Among others, Aman Saini, Ojas Deotale, Sahil Rajesh Jadhav and Chittibomma Jignas will represent the men, while Prithika Pradeep, Avneet Kaur and Madhura Dhamangaonkar are part of the women's field.
"We are delighted to have the presence of India's best archers in the first season of the Archery Premier League," AAI president Arjun Munda stated in a release.
"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."
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
