New Delhi, Read: The second season of Archery Premier League (APL) will be played in Hyderabad from 8 to 18 October. In this league to be held at People's Plaza on Necklace Road, 36 top archers of India will compete with 12 international players from 10 different countries.
Deepika, Atanu and Dheeraj will take command of the recurve team
The Indian recurve team includes big names like four-time Olympian Deepika Kumari, World Championship silver medalist Atanu Das and reigning Asian champion Dheeraj Bommadevara.
At the same time, in the Indian compound team, archers like World Cup and Asian Games champion Jyothi Surekha Vennam, Abhishek Verma and former world champion Ojas Praveen Deotale will show their strength.
Olympic and world number-1 star among foreign players
In the second season of APL, Indian players will face challenge from many big international stars. These include Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion Mete Gazoz of Turkey, Paris 2024 bronze medalist Casey Kaufhold of America, world number-1 Marcus D'Almeida of Brazil, world number-2 Ella Gibson of Great Britain and former world champion Mike Schlosser of the Netherlands.
Mike Schlosser has won the World Cup finals four times.
All 12 players of Indian team of Asian Games are part of APL
The home team has gained more strength this time. All 12 members of the Indian team selected for the Asian Games to be held in Aichi-Nagoya later this month are part of the APL ecosystem.
Along with experienced archers, emerging talents have also been given a place among the 36 Indian players selected on the basis of world archery and national rankings.
21 players returned, 15 archers will debut
In the second season of APL, 21 archers of the Indian team are returning from the first season, while 15 players will enter the league for the first time.
The debuting players include World Championship silver medalist Rajat Chauhan, World Cup stage gold medalist Riddhi, World University Games gold medalist Kushal Dalal and Junior National Champion Kirti Sharma.
Men and women players together in the league of six franchises
In this six-franchise league, started by the Archery Association of India (AAI) in collaboration with the Telangana government, mixed teams of men and women players will compete in recurve and compound categories.
15 second shot clock will increase the excitement
The most special thing about APL is its 15 second 'shot clock'. This is five seconds less than the Olympic standard time.
Through this format, the players' ability to take quick decisions, speed and composure under pressure will be tested. In team competition, this rule will increase both pressure and excitement during the match.
Competitions will be held from 7:30 to 9:30 pm
League matches will be played daily from 7:30 pm to 9:30 pm. In the first season, Rajputana Royals won the historic first title. In the second season, the team will enter with the intention of defending the title.
Indian and foreign players included in APL
Compound Men (India): Rishabh Yadav, Kushal Dalal, Sahil Rajesh Jadhav, Abhishek Verma, Tirumuru Ganesh Mani Ratnam, Ojas Praveen Deotale, Shivshankar Sakharam Landkar, Aman Saini, Rajat Chauhan.
Compound man (foreigner): Mike Schlosser (Netherlands), Matthias Fullerton (Denmark), Nico Viner (Austria).
Compound Women (India): Jyoti Surekha Vennam, Preneet Kaur, Madhura Dhamangaonkar, Taniparthi Chikita, Prithika Pradeep, Jasveer Kaur, Swati, Raj Kaur, Avneet Kaur.
Compound Woman (Foreigner): Andrea Maya Becerra Arrizaga (Mexico), Ella Gibson (Great Britain), Alejandra Usciano (Colombia).
Recurve Men (India): Bommadevara Dheeraj, Neeraj Chauhan, Yashdeep Bhoge, Atanu Das, Mrinal Chauhan, Rohit Kumar, Pawan, Abhyudaya Amol Pakhale, Jual Sarkar.
Recurve Men (Foreigner): Marcus D'Almeida (Brazil), Matias Grande (Mexico), Mete Gazoz (Turkey).
Recurve women (India): Deepika Kumari, Kirti Sharma, Kumkum Anil Mohod, Ankita Bhakat, Sangeeta, Simranjit Kaur, Riddhi, Kondapavuluri Yukta Sri, Gatha Anandrao Khadke.
Recurve Women (Foreign): Casey Kaufhold (USA), Alejandra Valencia Trujillo (Mexico), Elia Canales (Spain).
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