World number ones Andrea Becerra (compound) and Brady Ellison (recurve) are among the 48 top archers who will be taking part in the inaugural Archery Premier League (APL), the first-ever franchise based event, at the Yamuna Sports Complex, New Delhi from October 2 to 12.
Other top foreign archers featuring in the six-team league include World Number 6 Matias Grande of Mexico (recurve) and women’s World Number 1 Mike Schloesser of Netherlands (compound). The Indian archers were picked based on world rankings and the Archery Association of India's (AAI) recent selection trials.
In recurve, World No. 3 Deepika and World No. 14 Dhiraj will also compete alongside veterans Tarundeep Rai and Atanu Das. Other Indian women recurve archers include Ankita Bhakat and Bhajan Kaur, while the men's line-up includes Neeraj Chauhan, Rahul, Rohit Kumar, Mrinal Chauhan, Sachin Gupta and Krish Kumar.
In compound, world record-holder Jyothi Surekha Vennam (No. 3) and world No. 9 Rishabh Yadav lead the charge. They are joined by veteran Abhishek Verma (No. 10), Prathamesh Bhalchandra Fuge (No. 11), Priyansh (No. 16) and Parneet Kaur (No. 17).
The APL, launched by the AAI, will feature six teams, Prithviraj Yodhas (Delhi), Rajputana Royaks (Rajasthan), Chola Chiefs (Tamil Nadu), Kakatiya Knights (Telengana), Chera Archers (Jharkhand) and Mighty Marathas (Maharashtra). Each team will comprise eight archers, six Indian and two foreigners, both male and female. The total prize purse of the league is Rs 2 crore.
The teams were picked on Thursday following an eight-round players' draft. Each squad comprises 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.
The unique format of the league will witness both recurve and compound archers battling it out alongside each other. Both the recurve and compound ranges will be of Olympic standard, 70m and 50m, respectively, and the event will be played under lights.
Also read: India to host Archery League in October
The league will witness mixed team duels in recurve and compound. Round robin fixtures will see three matches per day, each lasting 20 minutes. The arrow shooting time has been reduced to 15 seconds from the internationally prevalent 20 seconds.
The AAI hopes to change the face of the sport through this league. “We have rich history in archery, our ancient sport. We have won medals in every competition, be it the World Cup, World Championships, Asian Championships or Commonwealth Championships. But one medal is still missing, the Olympics, and I am confident this league will help us in getting that," AAI secretary general Virender Sachdeva said during the players' draft ceremony, which was also attended by AAI president Arjun Munda.
APL Director and the brain behind the league, Anil Kamineni, said the event has elicited a great response worldwide and world's top archers are eagerly waiting for it. "We have already told World Archery that it will be an annual affair from now, and to keep it their calendar," Kamineni said. He said Korean archers would however be missing in action as the league clashes with their selection trials.
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