Archery: India to announce squads for Asian Games 2022

The top four archers in each division were picked to compete in the Asian Games, World Championships and Asian Championships.

Atanu Das celebrating at the Tokyo Olympics 2020 (Image: World Archery Twitter)
By Abhiruchi Rout | Feb 21, 2023 | 2 Min Read follow icon Follow Us

Dhiraj Bommadevara and Bhajan Kaur were named the top men and women in recurve Archery after the end of the double-phased selection trials which took place in Sonepat, Haryana. In the men’s division, the top four included Olympians Tarundeep Rai and Atanu Das, who missed out on a berth in the team, the previous year. The women’s section’s top four also included Aditi Jaiswal, Ankita Bhakat, and Simranjit Kaur. Prathamesh Jawkar and Avneet Kaur grabbed the top two spots in the compound category. Experienced archers V. Jyothi Surekha and Rajat Chauhan took second spots. However, India’s ace compound shooter Abhishek Verma finished fifth in the trials and has to wait for his turn in case someone underperforms or is injured.

However, one of the biggest misses is none other than the 2010 Commonwealth Games (CWG) gold medalist and seasoned archer Deepika Kumari. Despite not being in the best of form, Deepika, who gave birth to a baby girl in early December, participated in the first round of the trials here in January and made it to the top 16. In the end, she was ranked ninth. The other athlete who couldn’t make the cut in the top eight was Parth Salunkhe. Salunkhe has been one of the rising stars in the sport and showed great consistency and promise over the past two years.

The selection procedure for this year’s major events involved a difficult and long process. The committee took into account the consistency and one-on-one shooting abilities of archers among other factors and granted bonus and penalty points. The top four archers in each division were picked to compete in all of the upcoming competitions, such as the Asian Games, World Championships, and Asian Championships. If any archer’s performance deteriorates, the Archery Association of India (AAI) would organize a retrial with the underperforming athlete and backup archers to choose a replacement.

Read more: Archery, Asia Cup 2022, Stage 3, Sharjah: Find Out The Results of the Indian Contingent

Rankings After the Trials

Recurve Archery

Men: 1. Dhiraj Bommadevara (SSCB), 2. Atanu Das (PSPB), 3. Tarundeep Rai (SSCB), 4. Neeraj Chauhan (AIPSCB), 5. Tushar Shelke (AIPSCB), 6. Mrinal Chauhan (Jharkhand), 7. Jayanta Talukdar (Jharkhand), 8. Indrachand Swami (Punjab).

Women: 1. Bhajan Kaur (Haryana), 2. Aditi Jaiswal (Bengal), 3. Ankita Bhakat (Jharkhand), 4. Simranjeet Kaur (Punjab), 5. Madhu Vedwan (RSPB), 6. Sangeeta (Haryana), 7. Tanisha Verma (Punjab), 8. Prachi Singh (Rajasthan).

Compound Archery

Men: 1. Prathamesh Jawkar (Maharashtra), 2. Rajat Chauhan (Rajasthan), 3. Ojas Deotale (Maharashtra), 4. Rishabh Yadav (Haryana), 5. Abhishek Verma (Delhi), 6. Amit (SSCB), 7. Harsh Borate (Maharashtra), 8. Kushal Dalal (Haryana).

Women: 1. Avneet Kaur (Punjab), 2. Jyothi Surekha Vennam, 3 Aditi Swami (Maharashtra), 4. Sakshi Chaudhary (UP), 5. Pragati (Delhi), 6. Raginee Marko (MP), 7. Parneet Kaur (Punjab), 8. Taniparthi Chikitha (Telangana)

Expected Squad

Men

Recurve: Dhiraj Bommadevara, Atanu Das, Tarundeep Rai, Neeraj Chauhan
Compound: Prathamesh Jawkar, Rajat Chauhan, Rishabh Yadav

Women

Recurve: . Bhajan Kaur, Aditi Jaiswal, Ankita Bhakat, Simranjeet Kaur
Compound: Avneet Kaur, Jyothi Surekha Vennam, Sakshi Chaudhary

Read more: Compound and Recurve Archery, National Games 2022: Results