How Archery Premier League is helping Indian archers bridge the Olympic gap

Indian archers have achieved considerable success on the international circuit, winning medals at continental championships, world cups and world championships. The Olympic stage, however, remains a different challenge. For the Archery Premier League (APL), bridging this gap is the main objective and its organizers believe that the league is starting to take Indian archery in the right direction.

The second season of the APL in Hyderabad offered the Indian archers more than an opportunity to compete for their respective franchises. It brought them up against some of the world’s best archers, introduced a faster competition format and tested their ability to play in tough conditions.

Speaking exclusively to IndiaToday.in, APL Chairman and Director Anil Kamineni explained the thinking behind the league and recalled the question that led to its creation.

“We’ve won medals everywhere except the Olympics. What is it that we’re not doing well?” Kamineni remembered asking.

“We analyzed the situation and found that several other sports were benefiting from having their own leagues. We also saw an improvement in the performance of the athletes in those sports. So we thought, ‘OK, let’s start our own league’.”

The league was conceived as an attempt to address this gap, drawing on the success of franchise competitions in other sports and creating a different competitive environment for archery.

LEARNING FROM THE BEST

One of the main objectives of the APL is to bring the leading international archers to the same competition as the best Indian performers. Competing alongside established names offers younger Indian athletes an opportunity to watch how elite competitors approach the sport, from their shooting routines to handling pressure.

The exchange takes place in both directions. Kamineni said international archers also spoke positively about competing alongside athletes from different countries, creating cross-country learning opportunities.

The league also brought back and compound archers together in the same competition. The two disciplines generally operate in separate competitive environments, but the APL has created opportunities for athletes to interact and compete as teammates.

The mixed event format is another attempt to broaden the sport’s appeal while bringing together athletes who might otherwise have limited opportunities to share a competitive environment.

FIVE SECONDS LESS

The APL has also changed the pace of the competition. Its format gives each team 120 seconds to shoot eight arrows in a set, averaging 15 seconds per arrow. That’s five seconds less than the conventional 20-second limit per arrow in standard team formats.

A shorter window requires faster decision making. Archers must assess the conditions, settle into position and execute their shots without the pressure of the clock interfering with their accuracy.

Kamineni said the change was introduced to encourage archers to establish a rhythm and focus more quickly.

INCREDIBLE shot by 17-year-old Yukhta Shri hits the bull’s eye with just 2 seconds left on the clock to help her team Chola Chief win the One Sided Shoot off .. : Archery Premier League Navin sports (@Navinsports) October 16, 2026

“What we’ve observed is that some archers who shoot faster perform well. Others tend to take more time, but that can affect the team. They start to realize that and improve their pace accordingly,” he said.

The format also puts more emphasis on collective performance. Each team will field four archers, one male and one female in both directions and compound, meaning that individual formations must meet the requirements of the team competition.

The challenge is to find a balance between speed and accuracy, especially when the team’s overall performance depends on all four archers delivering the push.

WHEN THE PRESSURE IS ON

The conditions in Hyderabad added another layer to the competition. Since the range is located by the Hussain Sagar Lake, natural winds regularly made shooting difficult. Intermittent gusts on the penultimate day provided a particularly severe test.

Wind is an unavoidable factor in outdoor archery, but changing conditions require athletes to evaluate the breeze and make adjustments without losing consistency. In Hyderabad, these decisions had to be made within the tighter time window of the APL.

The league’s hit-and-run shootout offered another test of composure. When matches were tied at 4-4, archers had to hit a designated spot on the target to score a hit, with sudden death if the teams remained tied. Unlike conventional scoring, the shootout reduced the result to the difference between a hit and a miss, leaving little room for error.

Star archer Dhiraj Bommadevara experienced the pressure firsthand on the final day of the league. The 25-year-old, who competed for the Mighty Marathas in the first qualifier against the Kakatiya Knights, had a moment to forget when he hit an eight with his last arrow when his team was in a position to seal victory.

WOW! We have a shootout! Neeraj comes with a clutch 10. Scoreboard pressure, time pressure on Dhiraj. And he shoots 8! Knights increased to 4:4! #APL #APLSeason2 #RiseOfArchery Archery Premier League (@ArcheryPL) October 18, 2026

The Knights took advantage of the opening to win the contest via a Shortcut Decider, leaving the Marathas to fight their way back through the eliminators.

It can be difficult for any athlete to shake off such a costly mistake, especially when making it to the finals is at stake. Bommadevara, however, replied forcefully. He helped the Marathas navigate the second eliminator and return to the final, where he scored 79 out of a possible 80 points and delivered the winning arrow.

The turnaround offered a convincing display of the composure required in the high-pressure APL format. Instead of letting one bad knock define his day, Bommadevara recovered to deliver a decisive performance when his team needed it most.

One performance cannot prove that a league has improved an athlete’s mental game. But his response showed the importance of recovering from mistakes and staying focused when the next opportunity presents itself, qualities that matter far beyond the confines of franchise competition.

DHIRAJ BOMMADEVARA AGAIN! Another sensational last arrow from the Mighty Marathas main man. And they take a great set 77-76. Marathas 3-1 Knights #APL #APLSeason2 #RiseOfArchery Archery Premier League (@ArcheryPL) October 18, 2026

NEXT GENERATION

Kamineni was particularly encouraged by the performances of the younger Indian archers during the league. He pointed to the 16-year-old who impressed him, along with the performances of Kumkum Mohoda (17) and Chikita (20) at the Asian Games.

“I am very impressed with what I have seen. We have a 16-year-old who is shooting amazingly well, along with several other young archers,” he said.

The APL selects its Indian participants based on their performances in the national selection trials, with the top nine archers selected for the respective teams. This gives top domestic performers a platform to compete alongside international stars while placing younger athletes in a challenging team environment.

Kamineni believes the early signs have been encouraging. He pointed to India’s performances in the Asian Championships, Asian Games, World Cups and World Cup finals as proof of the progress of Indian archers.

“We have already seen the impact within just a few months of our APL season. At the Asian Championship, our archers performed extremely well and the momentum continued at the Asian Games, World Cups and the World Championship Final where they won gold medals,” he said.

These results offer reason for optimism, although the direct contribution of the league to them is difficult to determine based on performances alone. The development of Indian archery depends on a wider ecosystem of coaching, training, selection and international competition and the APL is one part of that process.

But the league’s ambitions are clear. It aims to provide a more challenging competitive environment for Indian archers while bringing together international talent and various disciplines in one format.

India has proven its ability to win medals on the international circuit. The task is to transfer this success to the Olympic stage. Whether the APL can help bridge that gap will depend on how its format and experience translate into sustained performance when the stakes are highest.

– The end