"Our target is to earn the quota place for the Olympics here in Berlin"- High-performance director Sanjeeva Singh's aim for World Archery Championship

The national recurve archery team is ready for the season’s first major competition, the World Archery Championship, starting on July 31 in Berlin, Germany. On Saturday, Sanjeeva Kumar Singh, India’s high-performance director, told Sportskeeda over the phone from Berlin:

“Our target is to earn the quota place for the Olympics here in Berlin. It will be a challenging task but the national archery team is mentally prepared. The players were given extended international exposure, which would be an advantage.”

The week-long competition that concludes on August 6 will be the first Paris Olympic Games qualification event in archery.

According to India’s high-performance director, the top four ranks in team and individual events will be eligible for the Paris Olympic quota places.

“The Indian archers have had a good run in the World Cups this year and we expected the players to continue their good run in Berlin to ensure we stay in the race for Olympics berth,” Singh added. “The national recurve team is young and experienced.”

A total of 128 archers will compete in Paris Olympic Games. Apart from individual and team events, mixed team events which made their debut at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, will also feature in the program.

The Asian Championships in November will be the second Olympic qualification event.

The 2023 World Cup Stage 1 was held in Antalya, Turkey, from April 18 to 23, while the second leg of the World Cup was organized in Shanghai, China, from May 16 to 21. The third World Cup was held in Medellin, Colombia, from June 3 to 18.

According to Singh, performance during the 2023 World Cups was evaluated:

“Indian team claimed medals in team events, but weren’t as successful as expected in the individual events during the World Cups,” he added.

To ensure the best archers go to the Berlin World Championship, the Archery Association of India (AAI) conducted selection trials at the end of June.

Promising recurve archer Dhiraj Bommadevara won individual bronze in World Cup Stage 1 and team silver. Jyothi Surekha Vennam also won individual women's compound gold. Prathamesh Samadhan Jawkar won gold in World Cup Stage 2, held in Shanghai. At World Cup Stage 3, compound archer Abhishek Verma won individual gold. The team also won two silver and one bronze medal.

Recurve events feature in the Olympic program, while compound competition is organized at the world championships and Asian Games.

The national team for Berlin World Championship.

Recurve: Men: Mrinal Chouhan, Dhiraj Bommadevara, Tushar Prabhakar Shelke. Women: Bhajan Kaur, Anikta Bhakat, Simranjeet Kaur.

Compound: Men: Abhishek Verma, Prathamesh Samadhan Jawkar, Ojas Pravin Deotale.

Women: Parneet Kaur, Jyothi Surekha Vennam, Aditi Gopichand Swami.