India’s Archery Premier League returns for its second season this October
The Archery Premier League will return for its second season from 8-18 October, with Hyderabad’s People’s Plaza at Necklace Road hosting 11 days of competition featuring leading Indian and international archers.
Launched by the Indian archery federation in 2025, the franchise-based league will once again bring together recurve and compound archers from around the world alongside India’s top talent in a franchise team format.
The second season will feature six franchises – Mighty Marathas, Rajputana Royals, Prithviraaj Yodhas, Kakatiya Knights, Chero Archers and Chola Chiefs – with 48 Indian and international archers expected to compete. Each team will field a mixed squad of eight athletes, with the competition following a double round-robin format before the top four teams advance to the semi-finals and final.
Supported by World Archery and World Archery Asia, the Archery Premier League remains the world’s only franchise-based archery league. Following its inaugural season, it was named Emerging Professional Sports Event of the Year at the India Sports Awards 2025.
“We are delighted to bring the Archery Premier League to Hyderabad for Season 2 and are grateful to the Government of Telangana for its support in making this possible,” event director Anil Kamineni said. “The inaugural season demonstrated not only the immense potential of archery as a spectator sport but also the value of creating a platform where Indian archers can compete alongside the world’s best.
“As we build on that foundation, our focus remains on strengthening India’s archery ecosystem and providing world-class competitive opportunities for athletes.”
The Archery Premier League was launched to strengthen India’s Olympic medal prospects by creating a high-performance competitive environment for domestic archers. Indian athletes compete alongside Olympic champions, world champions and world number one-ranked archers in a franchise setting.
Among the Indian stars expected to feature this season are former world number one Deepika Kumari, four-time Olympian Atanu Das, 2023 compound world champion Ojas Pravin Deotale, compound archers Jyothi Surekha Vennam and Abhishek Verma, and Olympian Ankita Bhakat.
Archery Premier League director and national federation secretary general Virendra Sachdeva said the league continues to play an important role in India’s long-term Olympic ambitions.
“The Archery Premier League was conceived with a larger vision of strengthening India’s pathway to Olympic success in archery,” he said. “For our athletes to consistently compete for medals on the world’s biggest stages, they need regular exposure to the highest standards of competition, and that is what the league seeks to provide.
“At the same time, the Archery Premier League has created a unique model for the sport globally by combining elite international participation with a franchise-based format that brings archery closer to fans.”
One of the league’s defining features is its 15-second shot clock – five seconds shorter than the standard timing used in World Archery competition.
Indian recurve archer Dhiraj Bommadevara said the format has become a valuable training tool.
“The spotlight event in the Archery Premier League is very challenging,” he said. “Normally, we get around 20 seconds, but in the league it’s reduced to 15 seconds, which makes it much tougher.
“It’s a simple concept, but a very exciting one, and we’re constantly working on improving ourselves and understanding the format better. We even include elements of it in our daily practice.”
The inaugural season in New Delhi was won by the Rajputana Royals and featured international stars including Olympic Champion Mete Gazoz and compound world champion Ella Gibson.
Further details on team rosters, international signings, match schedules and broadcast arrangements will be announced in the coming weeks.
