New Delhi, May 26 (IANS) As the archery squads have been locked for the Asian Games after rigorous selection trials,  the world number three ace compound archer Jyothi Surekha Vennam has backed her younger teammates  Taniparthi Chikitha and Prithika Pradeep, stating that the new-look Indian squad possesses the temperament and experience to replicate their 2022 Asiad success in Japan.

Jyothi, who won three gold medals in the Hangzhou Asian Games, will compete at her fourth Asian Games alongside youngsters Chikitha and Prithika. The 20-year-old Chikitha is the compound U21 world youth champion from Winnipeg 2025, while Prithika claimed silver in the U18 category at the same event.

With young talents breaking into the senior ranks for the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, the 29-year-old archer’s role has naturally transitioned into that of an anchor and team leader.

“Although we have young archers in our team, they are highly capable—which is exactly why they were selected for the Indian team after a rigorous selection process. This isn’t their first time making it to the senior team either; they were part of the squad last year for the World Cups, the World Championship, and the Asian Championship.

“However, we haven’t had the chance to compete together as a team yet, so this will be our first time doing so. Fortunately, we have enough time before the games. With World Cup Stage 3 and Stage 4 lined up, we can prepare ourselves, plan our strategy, identify any gaps, and improve together as a unit,” Jyothi told IANS during a press conference organised by Sports Authority of India on Tuesday.

The Indian recurve men’s team also featured a major change, as seasoned archer Atanu Das missed out on an Asian Games selection. Asked about how he is planning to fill that vocal and tactical void, Olympian Dhiraj Bommedevara said, “Even though Atanu Bhaiya and Tarundeep Rai are not in the team right now, they have been with us for a very long time. The best part is that whenever the team is together, experience is always shared with everyone. They have already taught us so much—what to expect, what hurdles we might face, and how to handle them.”

He added, “We are constantly talking about solutions. No matter how the team changes in the future, we want that knowledge to be passed down. Because of this culture of sharing, adjusting hasn’t been a big problem for me. Coming back to the main point, we still have time on our side to make the most of it.”

The Asiad-bound archers will go through an exposure camp in Japan from September 5 to 18. The Asian Games 2026 is scheduled for September 19 to October 4.

Moreover, both Jyothi and Dhiraj shared their view on India hosting the centenary Commonwealth Games in 2030 and the prospect of Archery being included in the Games.

“It is the centenary of the Commonwealth, I think that is one thing which is really appreciable because it has been a long time since there was a big stage event like this in India after 2010. I think if archery is included in it again, it will be great news for all archers and for the entire fraternity,” Jyothi said.

“I think it will be great if archery is included because we are doing well and we are obviously at the top in the Commonwealth nations. We will get to win a lot of medals in archery,” she added.

Meanwhile, Dhiraj stated, “It is lucky for our game. My main point would be that when such events is hosted in our country, every kid who wants to do archery can watch how such Games are conducted. So, we are so lucky that it is going to happen and we hope everything goes well.”

–IANS

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