"Want to be in the present, main focus is Asian Games": Compound archer Jyothi Surekha on potential Olympics debut

New Delhi, May 26

Jyothi, along with Dhiraj Bommadevara, the Indian men's recurve archer, were speaking in a virtual interaction facilitated by the Sports Authority of India (SAI). After years of asserting her dominance with medals at the Asian and world stage, the prospect of an Olympic debut in Los Angeles awaits her, where the compound archery will be played for the first time as part of the mixed team event.

Speaking about her excitement for an Olympics debut, she said for her, it is still "two years from now".

"We have been waiting for a long time for compound archery to be a part of the Olympics. There are many people who want me to represent India at the Olympics and win a medal. But for me, it is still almost two years from now. Even though there is a thought of me going there, the main focus is on the Asian Games and the World Cup. These two things are currently in my hands. I want to stay in present. But I would try to maintain my performance and hopefully earn an entry in the Olympics," she said.

Last year, along with Rishabh Yadav, she had created a world record in mixed team compound archery at the Archery World Cup stage 4 at Madrid, with 1,431 points, surpassing the record held by Denmark's Tanja Gellenthien and Mathias Fullerton since the Krakow-Malopolska 2023 European Games of 1,429 points.

She was also recently announced as the member of India's 12-player squad for the Asian Games, which will start from September 19 this year in Japan. She will serve as a leader of the women's compound team, with Chikitha Taniparthi and Prithika Pradeep also featuring in the category.

On the pressure of featuring in the Asian Games, where she has won three golds, a silver and bronze each, she said that the selection trial itself was so hard that coming out of it means that one is really meant for that level. She also has no pressure of captaining her side in the women's compound category.

"There is no such pressure. I can say this because our selection trials was very hard. And if any archer has been selected after passing that, then we can say that he/she is a good archer. He/she has been able to come to the team only when he has consistently performed well," she said.

Jyothi said that the team has experience of playing and winning medals internationally and are open to listening each other's suggestions, no matter how much the weight of experience and accomplishments is.

"If I share my experience, then a junior can also come and say 'that this happened', 'or we can try this'. I think we are open to each and everyone. It is not like we say that we have played, we have so much experience, so listen to us. We are open to everyone. Coaches are also trying their best. And we archers are also doing our best. And everyone is moving forward together," she signed off.

Asian Games 2026: Indian archery squad-Recurve men: Dhiraj Bommadevara, Neeraj Chauhan, Yashdeep Bhoge-Recurve women: Kirti Sharma, Kumkum Anil Mohod, Ankita Bhakat-Compound men: Sahil Jadhav, Kushal Dalal, Thirumuru Ganesh Mani Ratnam-Compound women: Jyothi Surekha Vennam, Chikitha Taniparthi, Prithika Pradeep.

— ANI