New-look India aim to set tone for season at Asia Cup in Bangkok
India will kick-start the new international archery season with a fresh-faced squad at the Asia Cup Stage 1, banking on a blend of exciting teenagers and returning veterans instead of established stars in the tournament beginning here on Tuesday.
The team will be without Deepika Kumari, Ankita Bhakat, Dhiraj Bommadevara, Tarundeep Rai, Jyothi Surekha Vennam and Abhishek Verma as the Indian think-tank wants to use the continental opener to test bench strength ahead of a packed season culminating in the Asian Games in Japan come September-October.
The top Indian archers, however, will be back in action with the World Cup’s first two legs in Puebla (Mexico) and Shanghai, from April onwards.
Despite the absence of its marquee archers, the overall champions would be firm favourites. In the last year’s opening leg, India topped the tally with eight medals, including five gold. The team will look to maintain its dominance on the Asia Cup circuit, which has been given a miss by the world heavyweights, South Korea.
In Korea’s, India’s main rivals would be China and Bangladesh. In the recurve men’s section, Australia’s Ryan Tyack is the top-ranked archer with a ranking of world No.27, while the women’s section has Russian-born neutral athlete Nurinisso Makhmudova (No. 45) as the highest-ranked archer.
The spotlight will firmly be on the formidable Indian men’s compound unit, spearheaded by world No.4 Rishabh Yadav alongside Asian Games gold medallist Prathamesh Jawkar and the seasoned Rajat Chauhan.
They will look to defend the title. Last year, Kushal Dalal was the individual champion. He, along with Manav Jadhao and Ganesh Thirimuru, had won the team gold.
Yadav, one of India’s most consistent performers, will be keen to build on his historic World Championships gold in the team event last year.
The women’s compound side will enter a rebuilding phase in the absence of Jyothi, with 20-year-old Chikitha Taniparthi leading the charge.
Ranked 37th in the world, she returns to a venue where she won a team bronze last year and will be supported by comeback archers Tejal Salve and Swati Dudhwal, along with the experienced Raj Kaur.
None from the women’s compound side managed to win a medal in the individual event in 2025 and Chikitha and Co. will look to make it count this time.
Eighteen-year-old Tejal had won a gold in the Singapore Asia Cup Leg 2 last year, while 34-year-old Raj was a member of the 2019 world championship bronze medal-winning team.
The 30-year-old Swati is also making a comeback, having won a gold medal at the World University Championship in 2016 and a gold at the 2015 Asian Archery Championship.
In recurve, the focus shifts to a young core trying to find its feet on the big stage.
Devaang Gupta, fresh from a gold at the Khelo India University Games and a silver at the 2024 Pan American Championships, leads the men’s side alongside promising names like Juyel Sarkar and 18-year-old debutant Aarav Punia, while Sukhchain Singh makes a comeback after five years.
The 20-year-old Juyel from West Bengal Archery Academy, Jhargram, is being called the one to watch out for. He has been competing at the international level since 2022 but is yet to win an individual medal.
He has won a team gold (2022 leg 2), silver medals (2023 and 2025) at the Asia Cup.
The women’s recurve team, too, reflects a mix of youth and experience, with Ridhi Phor returning after three years to anchor the side that includes Anshika Kumari, Ruma Biswas and debutant Kirti.
India had dominated the previous edition with Vishnu Chaudhary and Rahul clinching the top two spots in recurve men, and Basanti Mahato winning the women’s title.
The men’s teams swept gold in both recurve and compound.
The Asia Cup, featuring 194 archers from 19 countries, offers crucial world ranking points and serves as an early testing ground.
Indian Squad:
Recurve, men: Devaang Gupta, Aarav Punia, Juyel Sarkar and Sukhchain Singh; women: Kirti, Anshika Kumari, Ruma Biswas and Ridhi. Compound, men: Rajat Chauhan, Prathamesh Jawkar, Uday Kamboj and Rishabh Yadav; women: Swati Dudhwal, Raj Kaur, Tejal Salve and Chikitha Taniparthi.
