Hangzhou, Sep 30 (PTI) The Indian compound archers will enter the Asian Games as outright favourites after producing exceptional results in the 2023 season while the recurve archers will strive to end a 13-year medal drought at the continental showpiece when competition in the bow sport gets underway, here on Sunday.

India never boasted a world champion in archery but the year 2023 threw not just one but three senior champions, including Ojas Deotale and 17-year-old Aditi Swami, who excelled in compound.

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The compound archers also grabbed seven gold and four bronze medals from three stages of the World Cup to assert their supremacy, similar to what Korean archers brag about in recurve section.

Going into the Asian Games with such stupendous performances, the compound archers will be aiming for all the five gold medals on offer and power India to their best-ever show in archery at the continental showpiece.

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India had returned with two silver medals from Indonesia in 2018.

India's best-ever show in archery at the Asian Games came in 2014 with one gold, one silver and a bronze in the compound section.

"This time we are expecting gold in men's and women's sections. God willing, we may end up with four gold medals in compound," India's high performance director and Dronacharya Awardee Sanjeeva Singh told PTI referring to individual and team events.

In the women's compound section, all eyes would be on Aditi who dropped just four points in the semifinal and the final en route to title win in Berlin in August.

India's most-accomplished compound archer Jyothi, who has seven World Championship medals, will also look to make her presence felt.

In men's section, while world champion Deotale will look to live up to his reputation, senior-most Abhishek Verma, who is the only compound archer to have an individual silver (Incheon 2014) in the Asian Games would look to upgrade his medal and sign off on a high.

Then the compound team also have the promising Prathamesh Jawkar, fresh from winning a silver at the World Cup Final earlier this month.

As per a new rule, only two archers from the same country will make the cut from the qualifying round for the individual elimination round.

Also, this Asian Games will offer two more medals in archery from the previous addition with the addition of mixed sections (recurve and compound events).

"So no country can make a clean sweep in the individual section, and hence I'm expecting four medals from compound archers -- two each in men's and women's sections.

"The mixed team event will be tricky and you never know, it will be a bonus if we make it five (in mixed event)," Singh added.

Redemption time

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It's a different story in recurve section which is an Olympic discipline. The last time India won a recurve medal at the Asian Games was 13 years ago at Guangzhou.

That six Olympic quota places will also be on offer and that will be an added incentive.

India's best bet would be 22-year-old Army man Dhiraj Bommadevara, who is enjoying a career-best world ranking of 15.

At a time when recurve archers have paled in comparison to their compound counterparts, Dhiraj has had some significant show this year.

Dhiraj not only won a first individual World Cup medal -- a bronze -- since 2021, but he also shocked two-time Olympic team gold medalist Kim Woojin in the final.

While Dhiraj will look to continue his fine run, comeback man Atanu Das will lend his experience to the recurve men's team.

Not much is expected from the women's recurve section where Ankita Bhakat will spearhead the challenge.

THE SQUAD

Men's recurve: Dhiraj Bommadevara, Atanu Das, Mrinal Chauhan, Tushar Shelke.

Women's recurve: Bhajan Kaur, Prachi Singh, Ankita Bhakat, Simranjeet Kaur.

Men's compound: Prathamesh Jawkar, Rajat Chauhan, Ojas Pravin Deotale, Abhishek Verma.

Women's compound: Aditi Swami, Jyothi Surekha Vennam, Avneet Kaur and Parneet Kaur.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)