New Delhi, Sep 18 (IANS) In all, 48 top archers were divided equally into six teams as the Archery Association of India (AAI) officially launched the Archery Premier League in New Delhi. The event will include 36 Indians and 12 overseas archers who were picked by the franchises in the draft for the first season.
The six franchises that’ll compete in the event are – Chola Chiefs (Tamil Nadu), Prithviraj Yodhas (New Delhi), Mighty Marathas (Maharashtra), Kakatiya Knights (Telangana), Rajputana Royals (Rajasthan), Chero Archers (Jharkhand)
The athletes were drafted over eight rounds, each comprising three compound and three recurve archers. To ensure fairness, the order in which franchises picked athletes was determined by a random draw across all eight rounds.
AAI officials also launched the official anthem along with a dynamic visual package and named Indian actor and filmmaker Mr Ram Charan as the league’s brand ambassador.
Shri Arjun Munda, President of the Archery Association of India, said, “The launch of the Archery Premier League is a watershed moment for the sport in the country. Through this league, we wish to expand our reach across India, including rural and tribal regions. We are confident our archers will gain tremendous exposure through the league, which will prepare them for future events. In 2023 and 2024, India finished in second position in World Rankings, and now our goal is to move towards the first position.”
Secretary General of the Archery Association of India, Shri Virendra Sachdeva, said, “We are elated to see that all the franchises are well balanced and are quite happy with their squads. We are emotionally attached to the sport, as it is associated with our historical and cultural roots. It took us many years to fulfil our vision for the league, and we hope now that the league propels us to greater achievements, including Olympic medals.”
Shri Anil Kamineni, Director of Archery Premier League, noted, “With support from World Archery, we were able to bring the world’s top archers to compete alongside our top archers in India. The league will have a spectacular opening on Dussehra Day, October 2nd, with Brand Ambassador Shri Ram Charan at Ram Leela Grounds in Delhi, and it will be a great way to showcase and increase the sport’s popularity.”
The first season of the Archery Premier League will be held from October 2 to October 12 at the Yamuna Sports Complex in New Delhi.
Here are the complete squad details of all franchises:
Chola Chiefs (Tamil Nadu)
Recurve Men: Brady Ellison (World No. 1), Tarundeep Rai (AAI Rank 4)
Recurve Women: Deepika Kumari (World No. 3), Anshika Kumari (AAI Rank 9)
Compound Men: Rishabh Yadav (World No. 9), Pulkit (AAI Rank 9)
Compound Women: Meeri-Marita Paas (World No. 5), Taniparthi Chikitha (AAI Rank 4)
Prithviraj Yodhas (Delhi)
Recurve Men: Matias Grande (World No. 6), Krish Kumar (World No. 1)
Recurve Women: Gatha Anandrao (AAI Rank 3), Sharvari Somnath (AAI Rank 4)
Compound Men: Abhishek Verma (World No. 10), Priyansh (World No. 15)
Compound Women: Andrea Becerra (World No. 1), Pranjal Salve (AAI Rank 9)
Mighty Marathas (Maharashtra)
Recurve Men: Bommadevara Dhiraj (World No. 14), Mrinal Chauhan (AAI Rank 7)
Recurve Women: Alejandra Valencia (World No. 3), Bhajan Kaur (AAI Rank 6)
Compound Men: Mike Schloesser (World No. 1), Aman Saini (AAI Rank 1)
Compound Women: Parneet Kaur (World No. 17), Madhura D (AAI Rank 8)
Kakatiya Knights (Telangana)
Recurve Men: Neeraj Chauhan (AAI Rank 2), Rohit Kumar (AAI Rank 6)
Recurve Women: Elia Canales (World No. 10), Tisha Punia (AAI Rank 8)
Compound Men: Nico Wiener (World No. 3), Jignas (AAI Rank 8)
Compound Women: Jyothi Surekha (World No. 3), Avneet Kaur (AAI Rank 5)
Rajputana Royals (Rajasthan)
Recurve Men: Mete Gazoz (World No. 7), Sachin Gupta (AAI Rank 8)
Recurve Women: Ankita Bhakat (AAI Rank 2), Basanti Mahato (AAI Rank 5)
Compound Men: Prathamesh Fuge (World No. 11), Ojas Pravin (AAI Rank 5)
Compound Women: Ella Gibson (World No. 2), Swati Dudhwal (AAI Rank 7)
Chero Archers (Jharkhand)
Recurve Men: Rahul (AAI Rank 3), Atanu Das (AAI Rank 5)
Recurve Women: Katharina Bauer (World No. 9), Kumkum Mohod (AAI Rank 7)
Compound Men: Mathias Fullerton (World No. 2), Sahil Rajesh (AAI Rank 6)
Compound Women: Prithika Pradeep (AAI Rank 3), Madala Hamsini (AAI Rank 6)
— IANS
vi/bsk/
