Archery Premier League: Learnt a lot from overseas players, says Deepika Kumari

New Delhi, Oct 11 (IANS) The Archery Premier League (APL), the world’s first professional archery league, successfully concluded its debut season with a press conference and gathering here at the Yamuna Sports Complex, and India’s ace archer Deepika Kumari shared her experienced of playing the league and sharing the stage with some of the top archers from around the world.

The event united league stakeholders, prominent archers and dignitaries to celebrate its significant role in raising India's profile in global archery, with APL flagbearer and actor Ram Charan also being a part of it.

Deepika said that the Indian archers learned a lot from their foreign counterparts, about their style of work, how they train, and a lot about their mentality, adding that all this will help them improve and develop their game.

“We were thrilled when the league began, as it was happening for the first time. We never expected overseas players to participate if a league was to happen, but the top 20 players in the world are here, and we competed with them. Everyone is happy that the league is finally taking place with a new format and new rules. It's really fun. We've definitely learnt a lot- about their style of work, training, mentality, and how they handle situations. Watching how they handle obstacles as they arise, whether they win or lose, will help us grow further,” Deepika told IANS.

The event saw participation from several renowned international and Indian archers, including 2024 Olympic recurve competitor Katherine Bauer, Olympian Brady Ellison — one of America’s most decorated recurve archers — World No. 1 Ella Gibson of Great Britain, and World No. 2 Mathias Fullerton of Denmark.

India’s distinguished archers Deepika and Dhiraj Bommadevara, compound world champion Jyothi Vennam, Asian Games medallist Abhishek Verma, and the emerging Indian talent Chikitha Taniparthi were also part of the event, showcasing a diverse mix of global and domestic excellence.

-- IANS

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