The Archery Association of India (AAI) on Wednesday announced that the first edition of the Archery Premier League will take place at the Yamuna Sports Complex in New Delhi from October 2 -12.
“We are proud to host this landmark event at the nation’s capital, reflecting our commitment to elevating the sport, both nationally and globally,” AAI president Arjun Munda said in a statement.
He added, “The dates have been decided keeping multiple factors in mind, including the schedule and workload of Archers and the weather conditions in the city.”
The tournament’s team format will feature 36 Indian Archers and 12 top global Archers divided into six franchises.
According to reports, the inaugural season is likely to follow a draft system instead of an auction, with each squad comprising eight members—four men and four women. Teams can include up to two foreign archers, with at least one of them required to be part of the playing four.
Recurve archers, who have represented India at the Olympics, Deepika Kumari and Dhiraj Bommadevara, are in the fray.
Veterans Tarundeep Rai and Atanu Das will also be among the recurve participants, while the women’s recurve events will feature Paris 2024 Olympians Ankita Bhakat and Bhajan Kaur.
World record-holding pair of compound archers Rishabh Yadav and Jyothi Surekha Vennam has also confirmed their participation along with Abhishek Verma, Prathamesh Fuge, Priyansh and Parneet Kaur.
“With its dynamic format and inclusive approach, the league will bring unprecedented visibility to both recurve and compound archery,” AAI secretary general Virendra Sachdeva added.
