Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], October 7 (ANI): Building on her learning experiences from the inaugural season, Telangana archer Chikitha Taniparthi – fresh from her gold medal-winning exploits at the Asian Games – is relishing the prospect of shooting on home soil as the second season of Archery Premier League – the world's only franchise-based league for archery – gets underway from Thursday in Hyderabad.
The return of APL, after a successful first season in New Delhi, coincides with India's sensational performance in Aichi-Nagoya that saw the country's archery contingent emerge as the best in the field, ahead of powerhouses South Korea. Now, the country's star archers will take centre stage from October 8 to 18 at People's Plaza on Hyderabad’s Necklace Road, according to a press release from APL.
This time, the medal-winning archers will be involved in a completely different setting – shooting against their own national teammates in some cases, and with a quicker shooting deadline, with each arrow allotted an average of just 15 seconds in a thrilling format. The APL will also witness recurve and compound archers going up against each other, another novelty that makes this franchise league stand out from regular World Archery events on the international circuit. The league also unveiled an anthem and mascot as part of the proceedings on Wednesday.
Taniparthi, who hails from Peddapalli, said she learned from watching the top archers in APL's first season, and that helped her refine her game.
"During the first season of APL, playing for the Chola Chiefs, I learnt a lot about managing pressure under the faster shot clock of 15 seconds per arrow as well as learning techniques from my teammates while watching them train. It helped a lot in me getting better as an archer, and played a part in winning a gold medal at the Asian Games," she said at the launch event of APL Season 2 in the city on Wednesday. With the tournament taking place in her neck of the woods, she hoped to see youngsters turn up to watch the stars in action. "I hope young girls come to watch us during this tournament, and that this tournament can help them pick up archery."
APL Director Anil Kamineni said that the interest in the league has only gone up since the first edition this time last year. "There is more and more interest from archers around the world, and we are hoping to increase the number of teams as well as go to new locations in the seasons to come," he said. He also hoped that India's rich bow-and-arrow mythology would shine in an iconic city like Hyderabad. "Each region has the kings and emperors, etc. So that's when we said, it's not only going to be sport; it is going to be showcasing the heritage and culture of our country." Archery Association of India's treasurer Dr. Joris Paulose Ummacheril was also present at the launch event.
For Chola Chiefs' Deepika Kumari, who has seen a lot of changes in archery over a nearly two-decade-long career, the APL truly stands out. "It's completely new, and the time is technically 15 seconds to shoot, but we sometimes get even less than that. It's very interesting for all of us. And I think the juniors have got a lot of help in this because there has been a good performance at the Asian Games. And the upcoming cadets are also improving a lot. It is challenging for me too; I hope this season goes well too," the former World No. 1 said.
Chero Archers' Casey Kaufhold, who won a mixed team bronze medal at the Paris Olympics and is making her debut in APL Season 2, said she'd perhaps relish the quicker shot clock because she shoots better under time pressure. Kaufhold also praised India's performance at the Asian Games. "I think the Indian team has improved a lot over the last few years. I have shot against many Indian archers. Deepika and I have shot many matches. Ankita Bhakat as well. And as a team, they have really improved. They have always had good individuals. But I think the teams especially have really done well. Lots of medals at Asian Games. So congratulations to them all for a great performance. And I'm excited to compete with some of them and against some of them," Kaufhold said.
The event also brought out the lighter side between the archers. Mexico's Alejandra Valencia, who represents Mighty Marathas, spoke about the new friendships that she has been able to make through APL.
"Because of the kind of dynamics in APL, we have like become a kind of family all together. Because we are not representing different countries anymore. We are like a team, but then we are talking with each other. And I think that I made a lot of friends last year," she said. Nico Wiener, who became the first Austrian to win the World Cup final title and will be part of the Kakatiya Knights, has two siblings who excel in other sports. "Everyone likes the sports they like. For sure, I tried to get into archery. But they decided differently. They still support me. I support them. And we have fun together," he quipped.
Last season's finale hero Ojas Pravin Deotale, who delivered under a high-pressure shootoff to help Rajputana Royals win the title last year, revisited a story. As a teammate of Tokyo Olympic champion Mete Gazoz, Deotale gave him an arrow of his own to take with him as a memento.
"But when the final went into a shoot-off, I told Mete I needed that arrow, and I shot the bullseye with that. And he still has it," Deotale, a former compound archery world champion, said.
Prithviraaj Yodhas' Andrea Becerra is excited that compound archery is now going to be part of the Olympic programme at LA 2028. "It's a pretty great opportunity for us Compounds that we even have the chance to go to the Olympics. It was life-changing for us. We get more funding, and we get like so many opportunities that we wouldn't have otherwise. So I'm pretty excited, and I'm sure that APL will be a great platform for us to practice in high-pressure situations," the Mexican added.
On the opening day, the first of three matches will see the repeat of last year's thrilling title clash between Rajputana Royals and Prithviraaj Yodhas. In the second match, two archery stalwarts from India will go head-to-head when Jyothi Surekha Vennam's Kakatiya Knights take on Dhiraj Bommadevara's Mighty Marathas. After her pathbreaking Asian Games campaign, recurve archer Kumkum Mohod will be hoping to build on it for Chero Archers alongside the likes of Atanu Das when they take on Chola Chiets, boasting talent like Deepika Kumari and Chikitha Taniparthi.
The six-team league has a total of 48 Indian and international archers competing across recurve and compound disciplines. Each team has a mixed squad of eight archers, with the competition following a double round-robin format. In each match, four archers shoot two arrows per set, competing for two points per iteration. At the end of the league, the top four teams at the end of the league stage will advance to the semi-finals, culminating in the final on October 18. (ANI)
Olympic medallists, India's Asian Games stars descend on Hyderabad as Archery Premier League returns
