Signing you in

Jyothi Surekha Vennam, world no. 3 in women’s compound, and Dhiraj Bommadevara, India’s top male recurve archer, were the two favourites who sealed their ticket for the competition.

Speaking at a media conference organised by the Sports Authority of India (SAI), the two athletes, who are part of the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) core group, remained optimistic about India’s showing at the Games even if the squad had some surprise names, albeit talented youngsters in Chikitha Taniparthi and Prithika Pradeep in women’s compound and Neeraj Chauhan and debutant Yashdeep Bhoge in men’s recurve.

“This would be the first time we’d be competing as a team, and I am hopeful we will be doing great,” says Jyothi. In what will be a remarkable fourth Asian Games for an athlete who has made consistency her mantra, the 29-year-old will have the tall order of repeating the feat of the last Asian Games where she won three gold medals.

Dhiraj, who returned with a silver in the men’s team in the previous Asian Games, will be hoping to open his account with an individual medal after a strong showing in the Asian Archery Championships. “This year, there have been sizeable changes in the team. The main senior players, Tarundeep Rai and Atanu Das, are out,” said Dhiraj, noting the surprising absences. “Thanks to the camp, we have some time to bring things together as a team, support each other in the upcoming World Cup stages, and bring our best outcome at the Asian Games.”

There may be newcomers in the line-up, but Jyothi is confident that the skill levels are up there. “Although we have young archers, they are highly capable because they made it to the team after a rigorous trial. If someone has cleared it, one can say they are good archers indeed,” she noted. “This is not the first time they have made into the senior team. They have been a part before as well.”

Jyothi intends to use the time afforded in the ongoing senior national camp at the SAI National Centre of excellence in Sonipat, featuring 16 archers across recurve and compound, and the upcoming World Cup stages to build team spirit and prepare on fronts “where we are lacking, can improve and go ahead as a team”.

The very fact that the squad is fresh and young further highlights the depth of Indian archery. Jyothi and Dhiraj are only happy to see that the sport is spoiled for talent. “I know it was a little surprising to see the result of the national trials for the Asian Games. But India has a lot of healthy competition,” says Jyothi. “A single point matters if you are in or out of the team. It is really good when you get such good competition locally.”

Jyothi has her work cut out before the Games commence in September. “The arrows I use have stopped production so we need to switch,” she noted. “I have been shooting those from 2017 so it was easy to shoot as I was prepared. I have to experiment with the new ones and figure which arrow suits me.” But with time on her side, she isn’t too perturbed.