Deepika Kumari left out of Indian archery squad for Asian Games

The former World No. 1 failed to finish in the top eight and so is going to miss Asian Games 2022.

The selection trials of archery for the 2022 Asian Games and World Cups got concluded on February 20 (Monday) in Sonepat, Haryana and the top eight archers from the respective sections qualified. Two-time Olympian Deepika Kumari failed to make the cut as she finished outside the top eight in the final leg of three-day trials at SAI Sonepat.

The first phase of the trials was held in January 2023 and the top 16 from the leg qualified to take part in the February leg. Dipika Kumari gave birth to a baby girl in December 2022. Olympian Atanu Das after a brief break finished inside the top four. Jayantha Talukdar couldn't finish inside the top 4 but finished seventh making the cut. Experienced archer Tarundeep Rai along with Diraj, Atanu Das, and Neeraj Chauhan finished inside the top 4 in the men’s recurve section.

In the compound section of archery, Jyoti Surekha Vellam continued her good form and finished second whereas Abhishek Verma finished fifth in the men’s section. The squad selected will play in the Asia Cup, Asian Games, Asian Championships, and World Cup set to be held throughout the season. The first leg of the Asia Cup will be held from 14-19 March in Chinese Taipei. Asian Games and Asian Championships are the two Olympic qualifying events (2024 Paris Olympics)

Indian Archery Squad

Recurve Men

1. Bommadevara, 2. Atanu Das, 3. Tarundeep Rai, 4. Neeraj Chauhan, 5. Tushar Shelke, 6. Mrinal Chauhan, 7. Jayanta Talukdar, 8. Indrachand Swami.

Recurve Women

1. Bhajan Kaur, 2. Aditi Jaiswal, 3. Ankita Bhakat, 4. Simranjeet Kaur, 5. Madhu Vedwan, 6. Sangeeta, 7. Tanisha Verma, 8. Prachi Singh.

Compound Men

1. Prathamesh Jawkar, 2. Rajat Chauhan, 3. Ojas Deotale, 4. Rishabh Yadav, 5. Abhishek Verma, 6. Amit, 7. Harsh Borate, 8. Kushal Dalal

Compound Women

1. Avneet Kaur, 2. Jyothi Surekha Vennam, 3. Aditi Swami, 4. Sakshi Chaudhary, 5. Pragati, 6. Raginee Marko, 7. Parneet Kaur, 8. Taniparthi Chikitha

The top four archers will represent India on the global stages of archery while the next four are the reserves. If any archer underperforms from the top four, then the squad might change accordingly.