World Archery executive praises AAI for Archery Premier League

Kakatiya Knights completed their home round-robin campaign with a 6-0 win over Mighty Marathas, boosted by perfect scores from Nico Wiener and Jyothi Surekha Vennam. The teams will meet again on Sunday, with a place in the final at stake

Hyderabad: Telangana franchise Kakatiya Knights capped off a memorable round-robin campaign at home with a thumping 6-0 win over Mighty Marathas here on Saturday.

Both teams had already secured places in the top two ahead of the match, making it a dress rehearsal for their first qualifier clash on Sunday. However, the Knights ensured they would head into that encounter high on confidence.

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The Knights’ lead compound archers, Nico Wiener and Jyothi Surekha Vennam, were flawless, shooting 60 out of 60 despite gusty conditions at People’s Plaza on Necklace Road. Marathas, who opted to rest recurve star Dhiraj Bommadevara at the start, struggled to find their rhythm and registered scores below 70 in the first two sets.

They improved in the third set, scoring 74 as Dhiraj and Alejandra Valencia joined the action. However, the Knights responded with a superb 78 to seal the win and spark celebrations. The Knights had also rested their in-form recurve star Neeraj Chauhan.

The victory augurs well for the Knights ahead of Sunday’s rematch against the Marathas, which will determine the first finalist.

Juan Carlos Holgado, Spain’s 1992 Olympic gold medallist and World Archery executive director, acknowledged the Archery Association of India’s (AAI) efforts in making the league a success. He said other countries should use the Archery Premier League (APL) as a case study for bringing compound and recurve archers together in an entertaining, broadcast-friendly format.

“There are not many federations that have the power, the muscle, the financial resources to put this in place,” Holgado said. “World Archery is happy to support this. Hopefully, some of the countries take a similar model, but I don’t see this happening in the short term.”