World Archery Championships 2025: Deepika Kumari, Jyothi Surekha Vennam lead Indian contingent in Gwangju

Gwangju [Korea], September 4 (ANI): Olympian Deepika Kumari and compound ace Jyothi Surekha Vennam will be among 12 Indian players taking part in the World Archery Championships 2025, starting from Saturday.

The World Archery Championships, first held in 1931, have been a biennial event since the 1950s. Indian archers have won 15 medals in the competition - three gold, nine silver and three bronze. All three gold medals and one bronze were won at the last edition in 2023, hosted in Berlin, where India finished first, according to Olympics.com.

Aditi Swami became the youngest women's compound world champion, while India's Ojas Deotale won the men's compound title in the 2023 edition. Jyothi Surekha Vennam, who settled for an individual bronze in Berlin, also partnered with Aditi and Parneet Kaur to bag the women's compound team gold.

Both Jyothi and Parneet are part of this year's squad as well, but Aditi and Ojas, the reigning champions, won't be defending their respective crowns.

Prithika Pradeep, who won a silver medal in the women's U18 section at the recently-concluded World Youth Championships in Winnipeg, is also part of the women's compound team this year.

Meanwhile, Deepika Kumari, a two-time team silver medal winner at the World Championships in 2011 and 2015, will spearhead the recurve contingent, which also features her fellow Olympians Dhiraj Bommadevara and Ankita Bhakat.

Young Gatha Anandrao Khadake, who won two team bronze medals in U18 recurve team events in Winnipeg, is also in the mix, according to Olympics.com.

Exactly 500 archers from 74 countries and territories will be vying for the tag of world champions in Gwangju. The archery competition will conclude on September 11th.

This year's championships feature men's and women's events across team, mixed team and individual formats.

World Archery Championships 2025 Gwangju: India team

Recurve men: Dhiraj Bommadevara (15), Neeraj Chauhan (271), Rahul (85)

Recurve women: Ankita Bhakat (37), Gatha Anandrao Khadake (177), Deepika Kumari (6)

Compound men: Prathamesh Bhalchandra Fuge (16), Aman Saini (157), Rishabh Yadav (6)

Compound women: Parneet Kaur (13), Prithika Pradeep (148), Jyothi Surekha Vennam (3)

World Archery Championships 2025 schedule:

September 6, Saturday: Compound qualification rounds; compound team and mixed team eliminations - 5:30 AM onwards

September 7, Sunday: Compound men individual eliminations (morning); all compound team and mixed team bronze and gold medal matches - 5:30 AM onwards (eliminations), 10:30 AM onwards (finals)

September 8, Monday: Compound women individual eliminations; compound men finals - 5:30 AM onwards

September 9, Tuesday: Recurve qualification rounds; recurve team and mixed team eliminations; compound women finals - 5:30 AM onwards

September 10, Wednesday: Recurve men individual eliminations (morning); all recurve team and mixed team bronze and gold medal matches - 5:30 AM onwards (eliminations), 10:30 AM onwards (finals)

September 11, Thursday: Recurve men's individual eliminations and finals - 5:30 AM onwards

September 12, Friday: Recurve women's finals - 5:30 AM onwards. (ANI)

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