When the dust settled at the 2026 Asian Games, one sport stood taller than the rest. Archery hit the bullseye, hauling in nine medals (five gold, two silver and two bronze) and, for good measure, bringing the mighty South Koreans down a peg or two.

Then came the encore. Two quotas for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics were secured, courtesy of Chikitha Taniparthi and Sahil Jadhav in the Mixed Team Compound and Kumkum Mohod in the Women’s Individual Recurve.

The country’s finest archers have assembled once again, this time in Hyderabad to team up with international rivals and compete against their compatriots in the second season of the Archery Premier League (APL).

Chikitha, whose twin gold caught the nation’s attention in Aichi-Nagoya, credited APL for helping refine her game.

“During the first season, I learnt a lot about managing pressure under the faster shot clock as well as techniques from my teammates while watching them train. It helped a lot in me getting better as an archer and played a part in winning gold at the Asian Games,” she said at the pre-season press conference.

Interest in the league has only grown since the inaugural campaign in New Delhi, according to APL director Anil Kamineni. He revealed plans to add more teams in the future and announced that the APL caravan will pitch its tent in a new city every year.

A rematch of last season’s title clash between Rajputana Royals, the defending champion, and Prithviraaj Yodhas will get this edition underway at the People’s Plaza on Thursday.

When the dust settled at the 2026 Asian Games, one sport stood taller than the rest. Archery hit the bullseye, hauling in nine medals (five gold, two silver and two bronze) and, for good measure, bringing the mighty South Koreans down a peg or two.

Then came the encore. Two quotas for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics were secured, courtesy of Chikitha Taniparthi and Sahil Jadhav in the Mixed Team Compound and Kumkum Mohod in the Women’s Individual Recurve.

The country’s finest archers have assembled once again, this time in Hyderabad to team up with international rivals and compete against their compatriots in the second season of the Archery Premier League (APL).

Chikitha, whose twin gold caught the nation’s attention in Aichi-Nagoya, credited APL for helping refine her game.

“During the first season, I learnt a lot about managing pressure under the faster shot clock as well as techniques from my teammates while watching them train. It helped a lot in me getting better as an archer and played a part in winning gold at the Asian Games,” she said at the pre-season press conference.

Interest in the league has only grown since the inaugural campaign in New Delhi, according to APL director Anil Kamineni. He revealed plans to add more teams in the future and announced that the APL caravan will pitch its tent in a new city every year.

A rematch of last season’s title clash between Rajputana Royals, the defending champion, and Prithviraaj Yodhas will get this edition underway at the People’s Plaza on Thursday.

The Indian hockey teams’ experiment with a change in jersey colour has been partially rolled back and the players will now don the traditional blue at the upcoming Asian Games.

The saffron kit, which led to allegations of politicisation and internal tussle within Hockey India, will be the second option.

“The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) had asked us our preferred choice and HI has given blue as the first choice. Saffron will be the second colour,” HI president Dilip Tirkey said.

Meanwhile, almost two months after the sports ministry asked the Indian Olympic Association to conduct an independent inquiry into former captain Asunta Lakra’s allegations of harassment and intimidation against Hockey India secretary Bholanath Singh, a four-member committee has been constituted for the same.

The committee

The committee, headed by Justice (retd.) Deepa Sharma, also includes former India striker and 2002 Commonwealth Games gold medallist Mamta Kharab and former sprinter Vandana Rao.

Supreme Court advocate Sitwat Nabi is the fourth member of the committee which is expected to begin work later this week.