The 2025 Hyundai Archery World Cup reaches its halfway point as the third stage of the season unfolds from June 3 to 8 at the Antalya Centennial Archery Centre and Antalya Beach Park in Türkiye.
A total of 311 archers from 44 countries will compete at this historic stop — which has featured on the World Cup circuit since its inception in 2006 — and with the final in Madrid still to come, Antalya holds critical stakes for archers chasing a ticket to the 2025 World Cup Final in Nanjing, China.
Each individual gold medallist in Antalya will earn a direct qualification to the final, joining the champions from the earlier stages in Florida and Shanghai. The field in Antalya is stacked with top contenders across recurve and compound events, and India’s 16-member squad arrives riding a wave of confidence after a strong showing in China last month.
What’s Different in Antalya 2025?
Beyond being a key ranking event, Antalya 2025 is also a testing ground for new competition formats. This includes:
- An 11-ring scoring system being piloted for future implementation.
- A shortened 60-arrow qualification round, down from the traditional 72.
- A condensed schedule, with recurve elimination rounds now overlapping with compound finals on Saturday.
The experimentation reflects World Archery’s ongoing efforts to modernize the sport and increase its appeal for broadcasters and live audiences. How athletes adapt to these changes could influence future competition formats.
India’s Season So Far
India have had a strong start to the 2025 World Cup season. After finishing fourth in the medal table in Florida with four medals, the Indian team stepped up in Shanghai to win seven medals, including two golds, finishing second behind South Korea.
Shanghai Medal Summary – India
- Gold
- Madhura Dhamangaonkar – Compound Women’s Individual
- Ojas Deotale, Abhishek Verma, Rishabh Yadav – Compound Men’s Team
- Silver
- Jyothi Surekha Vennam, Madhura Dhamangaonkar, Chikitha Taniparthi – Compound Women’s Team
- Bronze
- Deepika Kumari – Recurve Women’s Individual
- Parth Salunkhe – Recurve Men’s Individual
- Madhura Dhamangaonkar & Abhishek Verma – Compound Mixed Team
- Rishabh Yadav – Compound Men’s Individual
This performance saw compound archers contributing five medals, while the recurve division brought in two, highlighting India’s growing strength in the compound format.
Indian Contingent for Antalya 2025
Compound Archery
- Men: Ojas Deotale, Uday Kamboj, Abhishek Verma, Rishabh Yadav
- Women: Madhura Dhamangaonkar, Aditi Swami, Jyothi Surekha Vennam, Chikitha Taniparthi
Led by reigning world champion Ojas Deotale and Shanghai gold medallist Madhura Dhamangaonkar, India’s compound team enters Antalya with momentum. The women’s lineup features depth with teenage world champion Aditi Swami and seasoned campaigner Jyothi Vennam, while the men’s team continues to be anchored by Abhishek Verma’s experience.
Recurve Archery
- Men: Dhiraj Bommadevara, Atanu Das, Tarundeep Rai, Parth Salunkhe
- Women: Anshika Kumari, Deepika Kumari, Ankita Bhakat, Simranjeet Kaur
India’s recurve team also packs firepower. Deepika Kumari, who claimed bronze in Shanghai, will look to go deeper into the draw. Parth Salunkhe will aim to replicate his breakout performance from the last stage. Veterans Atanu Das and Tarundeep Rai add stability, while young names like Anshika Kumari and Simranjeet Kaur are seeking valuable international experience.
The winners in Antalya will secure their spots for the Hyundai Archery World Cup Final in Nanjing, scheduled for October 2025. Already qualified from earlier stages are:
- Recurve Men: Florian Unruh (Florida), Kim Woojin (Shanghai)
- Recurve Women: Penny Healey (Florida), Lee Gahyun (Shanghai)
- Compound Men: Mathias Fullerton (Florida), Mike Schloesser (Shanghai)
- Compound Women: Andrea Becerra (Florida), Madhura Dhamangaonkar (Shanghai)
With India already having Madhura Dhamangaonkar in the final lineup, Antalya offers an opportunity for more Indians to book their place through gold-medal victories. Others will rely on World Cup rankings after Madrid, the final stage of the season, to potentially make the cut.
Antalya has been a familiar battleground for Indian archery, often serving as a breakthrough platform for both compound and recurve archers. With 311 athletes set to compete in the Turkish leg, including Olympic medallists, reigning world champions, and rising stars, the competition will be fierce.
For India, this stage presents an ideal balance: a seasoned lineup in form, the opportunity to test against the world’s best, and the chance to lock in more slots for the prestigious World Cup Final in October. If the Indian archers can maintain their rhythm and adapt quickly to the new format in Türkiye, Antalya might just become another historic stop in what has already been a promising 2025 season.
