Ahead of the packed calendar for 2025, the country’s top archers, including Deepika Kumari, Ankita Bhakat, B. Dhiraj, Abhishek Verma and Aditi Swami, will test their skills in the year-ending National Archery Championships, which will begin at Gopal Maidan, located in heart of the city, here on Monday.
The most notable absentee will be decorated compound archer V. Jyothi Surekha due to differences between the athlete and her state unit, the Andhra Pradesh Archery Association.
After another disappointing performance at the Olympics, Deepika redeemed some pride by winning silver at the World Cup Finals in Tlaxcala, Mexico in October and was keen to end the year on a high note.
For Dhiraj, who along with Ankita came so close to finishing fourth in the mixed team event at the Paris Olympics, the national competition marks the beginning of his preparations for the next Olympics.
“I take positives from our performance in Paris. For me, the next Olympic Games are not far away. I went back to basics. This is an important tournament in my preparation phase as I focus on improving key areas of my game,” Dhiraj said.
The first goal for the archers, some of whom have recently participated in indoor competitions abroad, will be to achieve good rankings to be eligible to compete in the National Games in Uttarakhand next month. This is followed by a calendar filled with several international events including the World Championships, World Games, Asian Championships and World Cups.
