Robust domestic plan after 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games has young Indian archers making waves

A robust domestic program has produced a good harvest for promising Indian archers and also made a significant impact at the senior level also in 2023.

Strengthening the domestic calendar for juniors, Sanjeeva Kumar Singh, high performance director of archery, said, was one of the key features post the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games to improve the grassroots program for archery in the country.

A solid domestic plan has enabled young archers to excel at international level and make a smooth transition to the senior group, and this is evident from the recurve team composition shortlisted for next week's Turkish World Cup in Antalya, Singh said.

Haryana’s teenage international recurve archer, Bhajan Kaur, is one of the junior athletes who will compete at the World Cup in Turkey starting April 18. While promising, Aditi Gopichand Swamy of Maharashtra made the cut for the women’s compound event for the season's first World Cup in Antalya.

“The probables for the 2022 Asian Games in archery are a blend of youth and experience,” Singh, said. “At least 50 percent of the juniors are in the senior recurve team. While 25 percent of the juniors have made a good impression in the compound event.”

Post the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, Singh, a former national coach and Dronacharya award, said there has been a significant increase in the number of domestic competitions, which has given archers at the state level opportunities to showcase their talent.

“In the last two years, there has been a quantum jump in the number of competitions at the state and zonal level. Each state unit can send more than one team to compete at the zonal level events,” high performance director of archery told Sportskeeda. “The domestic competition has become highly competitive and it gives more opportunity to potential archers to showcase their talent.”

International exposure was also a key feature incorporated in the 2022-2023 training program, said Singh. A core group of archers went to Switzerland for an advanced training camp in 2022 and gave a good account of themselves in the continental and World Cup competitions.

“There are two foreign coaches, one each in recurve and compound, to oversee the practice of the core group of archers in the national camp,” Singh added.

Emphasis is also being given to sports science post the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games held in 2021. The national archery team, including experienced Deepika Kumari and Atanu Das, bound for the Olympic Games in Japan, were expected to win a podium finish, but faltered at a crucial juncture in the competition and returned empty-handed from Japan.

While Deepika failed to make the cut for the Asian Games scheduled to be held later this year in September in China, Das maintained his form and was selected for the men’s recurve team and will compete in all three World Cups in 2023 apart from the World Championships in August.

Meanwhile, the Sports Authority of India (SAI) and the national governing body of archery in India --- Archery Association of India (AAI) are setting up a high performance center in archery in Sonepat, Haryana, Singh added.

“Work is in progress to set up a high-performance center in archery. We hope modern facilities in Sonepat will be ready for use by the end of this year. The equipment at the center will enable the experts to evaluate the technical aspect of the athlete and erase flaws,” Singh revealed.

“The 30m indoor high-performance center in Sonepat shall have a gadget for heart-rate monitoring system; stability of the posture and angle of the body while shooting an arrow,” Singh explained. “The scientific backup will enable the expert to improve performance. As the athlete improves technique indoor at the 30m distance, the technique can be applied while shooting outdoor.”

In addition to significant growth in domestic competitions, the AAI, in coordination with SAI, has conducted seminars to update the knowledge of the coaches at the state level.

Abhijeet Dalvi, grassroots archery coach in Ahmednagar, Maharashtra, was among several state-level coaches who attended the seminar last year in Haryana.

“It was a good opportunity to attend the seminar and enhance knowledge and keep track of the latest in the world of archery,” Dalvi told Sportskeeda over the phone from Ahmednagar.