Indian archery stands at a critical juncture as the first open National Archery Trials of 2026 get underway at the Sports Authority of India’s National Centre of Excellence in Kolkata.
Scheduled from January 5 to 9, these trials are not merely about naming squads for upcoming competitions; they represent a broader recalibration of India’s high-performance roadmap as the country prepares for an intense international cycle featuring four stages of the Archery World Cup and the Aichi–Nagoya Asian Games later this year.
The Archery Association of India (AAI) has framed the trials under its “Roadmap Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games” policy, emphasizing data-driven selection and sustained performance over reputation. Eligibility has been tightly defined. The core field comprises the top 32 finishers from the Senior National Championships held in Hyderabad in December 2025, supplemented by archers who achieved the prescribed Minimum Qualification Scores (MQS) across recognised events in the past year. This structure ensures competitive depth while keeping the door open for athletes returning from injury or international duty.
The MQS benchmarks themselves are aligned with international standards. Recurve men are required to shoot 654 at 70 metres, women 625, while compound archers face higher thresholds reflecting the discipline’s scoring ceiling. By enforcing these baselines, the AAI has sought to ensure that every athlete entering the trials already possesses the technical consistency required to survive at World Cup level.
Read Articles Without Ads On Your IndiaSportsHub App. Download Now And Stay Updated
Selection in Kolkata follows a demanding three-phase system designed to replicate the physical and mental stress of elite competition. The qualification rounds, spread across multiple 72-arrow sessions, progressively narrow the field to the top 12 in each category. This is followed by a round-robin phase, where archers face every other contender in match play, a format that tests endurance, adaptability, and focus.
The final phase consists of elimination matches among the top eight, seeded on cumulative points, where a single poor arrow can be decisive. Bonus points for elite scoring and penalties for sub-par averages further sharpen the competitive edge, ensuring that consistency across formats is rewarded.
Nowhere is the tension sharper than in the recurve division, where legacy and youth collide. Veterans like Deepika Kumari and Atanu Das enter the trials under pressure from a new generation that has already proven itself internationally. Kumari’s journey, in particular, has been one of resilience. After returning to competition shortly after childbirth in 2022, she rebuilt her form through overseas training stints and regained national trial supremacy in 2024 and mid-2025. Yet recent results suggest her margin over the field is narrowing, with younger archers increasingly comfortable matching her scores and nerve in elimination matches.
Leading that youth surge are names like B. Dhiraj and Ankita Bhakat. Dhiraj’s rise has been marked by technical excellence and composure, highlighted by his gold at the 2025 Asian Championships and a standout qualification performance at the Paris Olympics. Bhakat, meanwhile, delivered a breakthrough moment for Indian recurve archery by winning the Asian Championship title in 2025, defeating South Korea’s Nam Su-hyeon in the final. Her ability to thrive under pressure, sharpened through competitive exposure like the Archery Premier League, has altered perceptions about India’s mental strength in high-stakes recurve contests.
The trials also reflect a strategic shift driven by the inclusion of compound archery in the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic programme. Long India’s most reliable medal discipline outside the Olympics, compound archery has now moved to the centre of planning. Eight compound archers have been inducted into the TOPS core group, signalling institutional commitment. Performers like Jyothi Surekha Vennam, Abhishek Verma, and Ojas Deotale have already underlined India’s global standing, with world records and continental dominance reinforcing the medal potential in this category.
Adding another layer to the trials is the emergence of teenage prodigies. Sixteen-year-old Sharvari Shende, a world under-18 champion, and 15-year-old Gatha Khadake have posted qualification scores that rival senior internationals. Their presence has intensified internal competition and reinforced the AAI’s stance that no position is guaranteed purely on past achievements.
Beyond squad selection, the Kolkata trials are effectively a simulation of what lies ahead. With the recurve Olympic quota set to tighten for LA 2028 and World Cup stages in Puebla, Shanghai, Antalya, and Madrid looming, archers are being tested for durability as much as form. The trials generate crucial performance data that will guide selections not just for the early World Cups, but also for the Asian Games the most significant continental test of the cycle.
In essence, these five days in Kolkata are about more than arrows and scores. They represent a stress test of India’s evolving archery system one that is increasingly merit-driven, youth-friendly, and aligned with global standards. How athletes respond under this pressure will shape not only the 2026 season, but India’s broader Olympic ambitions heading toward Los Angeles.
