Madrid, July 7: India will have four debutants joining the likes of veterans Tarundeep Rai and Deepika Kumari competing in the fourth and final stage of the archery World Cup from Monday, as they start preparations for the World Championships later this year.
The same Indian squad competing here will also feature in the World Archery Championships to be held in Gwangju, Korea from September 5-12.
India will aim to defend the three titles they had won at the 2023 Berlin World Championships, but this time without reigning champions Ojas Deotale and Aditi Swami, who failed to make the cut in the trials.
Star compound archer Abhishek Verma and Antalya 2025 World Cup stage winner Madhura Dhamangaonkar, who made a remarkable comeback after three years, also missed out.
In another surprise, three-time Olympian Atanu Das too failed to qualify for the squad. In their place, four debutants – including three teenagers – have earned spots across the recurve and compound teams.
Maharashtra archers Gatha Khadake, 15, and Sharvari Shende, 16, secured places in the recurve women’s team alongside Deepika Kumari, who topped the trials, and the experienced Ankita Bhakat.
This tournament will offer to the 336 competing archers from around the world the last few tickets for the Nanjing World Cup Final to be held in October.
This will also mark a new chapter for former Commonwealth Games gold medallist Rahul Banerjee, who will make his debut as a coach, having been picked to lead the women’s team.
Two of his wards – Deepika and Ankita – have made the cut.
“It will be a new start for me and we will try our best. But mostly we are looking at this as a final preparation for the World Championships in Gwangju (September 5-12),” Banerjee said.
Sharvari and Gatha will also represent India at the upcoming 2025 World Archery Youth Championships.
Gatha posted a 686 – the highest recurve qualification score across men’s and women’s sections – before Deepika edged her in the eliminations to lead the final standings with 16.5 points.
“She is very talented. This wasn’t just a fluke – she has excelled in pressure situations many times, including at the National Games, where she beat Olympians Deepika Kumari and Bhajan Kaur in mixed and doubles events,” Gatha’s coach Ranjeet Chamle said.
The recurve men’s team will miss Das, who lost out by just 0.5 points to 41-year-old Tarundeep Rai, a four-time Olympian.
Dhiraj Bommadevara topped the trials, with Neeraj Chauhan and Rai completing the line-up.
Rookie Rahul Singh, 20, has also earned his first senior call-up.
“I’ve dreamed about playing World Cups and senior World Championships since I started archery,” said Singh, who won team gold and mixed silver at the 2024 Asian Youth Championships.
In the compound men’s section, Aman Saini made a strong comeback, topping the trials to earn his first World Cup appearance since Paris 2022.
Rising stars Prathamesh Fuge, Rishabh Yadav and Priyansh complete the compound men’s squad.
In compound women’s competition, 16-year-old Prithika joins Asian Games champion Jyothi Surekha Vennam and Parneet Kaur, adding another young name to India’s new-look teams. (PTI)
