Rajputana Royals crowned champions of the inaugural Archery Premier League

Rakesh Thapliyal

New Delhi: The inaugural Archery Premier League (APL) saved its best for the last as the final between the Rajputana Royals and the Prithviraaj Yodhas produced an edge-of-the-seat thriller, at the end of which the Royals held their nerves to not just storm back into the title clash but also win it in a shootoff to be crowned the APL champions.

It boiled down to a hit-and-miss match in the tiebreaking shootoff in the presence of Delhi Chief Minister, Rekha Gupta, where the two most consistent Royals’ compound archers – Ojas Deotale and Ella Gibson – hit the target, while none of the four Yodhas’ players found the yellow dot.

But the Yodhas can hold their heads high, not just for giving Royals a tough fight but for also becoming the first APL team to register a perfect rotation of eight arrows in a set, scoring a perfect 80 with all 10. But still it didn’t turn out to be enough despite taking a 4-2 lead, headed by their in-form senior compound archer, Abhishek Verma, who teamed up with Matias Grande, Gatha Khadake and Andrea Becerra.

For the Royals, recurvers Mete Gazoz and Ankita Bhakat partnered Gibson and Deotale to help their team lift the trophy, having lost just once in 12 matches on their way to winning the title.

The drama started in the first set itself, which ended with one of Khadake’s arrow getting upgraded by the judges to give the Yodhas a 78-77 win in the first set. However, the Royals roared back in the next with a 78-75 margin to square the final at 2-2.

The third set saw the Yodhas’ archers scripting history by scoring 10s on all eight arrows to win it with an unprecedented scoreline of 80-77.

The match went on a knife’s edge towards the end of the fourth set, when Grande needed a 9 to seal the championship for the Yodhas, but he hit an 8 and the Royals won the set 78-77 to make it 4-4, with a shootoff to decide the winner. And Gibson and Deotale did the rest by hitting the shootoff target twice.

Earlier in the day, in the first semi-final, the Royals dropped just six points across three sets for a 5-1 victory with a 78-78, 79-77, 77-75 scoreline to beat the Chero Archers. The league-stage toppers continued their rich vein of form, led by their compound archers Deotale and Ella Gibson, who were in brilliant 10-hitting form once again.

The Royals upped their game further after a tied first set to clinch the next two for an outright win, which was sealed with a 10 off the last arrow by the Tokyo Olympics gold medalist recurver Mete Gazoz.

A dramatic finish to the second semifinal between the Yodhas and the Mighty Marathas saw a remeasure by the judges in the fourth set giving Yodhas a 5-3 win for an entry into the final against the Royals.

It was a match that swung like a pendulum as compound archer Mike Schloesser had another perfect day for the Marathas. But it didn’t prove enough, even though they managed to level the game at 2-2 by winning the second set.

The Yodhas began by winning the first set 78-74, while the Marathas rallied to win the next 79-76. The Yodhas regained their two-point advantage at 4-2 after winning the third set 78-74 as compound man Verma led from the front with perfect 10s.

At the end of the fourth set, it appeared that the Marathas had clinched it by a point to take the semi-final into a shootoff. But a remeasure by the judges upgraded a Yodhas’ arrow, which made it 78-78, and it was enough for the Yodhas to win 5-3.

What an unforgettable ten day: Sachdeva

Virendra Sachdeva, Secretary General, Archery Association of India commented,  “The inaugural Archery Premier League (APL) concluded with a thrilling final! A massive congratulations to the Rajputana Royals for becoming our first-ever champions after a gritty, tie-breaker victory over the Prithviraj Yodhaas. What a final! We were truly honored by the presence of Hon. Delhi CM Shrimati Rekha Gupta ji. Our sincere gratitude for taking the time to join us and for motivating all the players. A special thanks to Randeep Hooda Ji for his energy and enthusiasm, he certainly brought luck to the Delhi team, helping them achieve the league’s only perfect set! A spectacular end to a historic league.What an unforgettable ten days! My hearty congratulations to all the teams who competed so fiercely and gave us such a spectacular display of talent at the inaugural Archery Premier League!To have been a part of launching this league has been one of the most fulfilling and overwhelming journeys of my life. My sincere thanks President, Archery Association of India Shri Arjun Munda ji, for his constant support and guidance, our brand ambassador Ram Charan Ji, for his energy and encouragement to strengthen the sport. My special thanks to my friend and my true anchor in this journey, Shri Anil Kamineni ji, and the entire federation India Archery who worked tirelessly to sail us through every challenge and bring this vision to life.

A single post can’t do justice to the sheer dedication behind the scenes, but thank you, to the incredible players, whose perseverance is inspires us to aim for things bigger and better. To the brilliant coaches, who dedicate days and nights training the champions for our nation. To the electrifying commentators, who brought the thrill of every arrow to the audience. To our wonderful sponsors, who enabled a league of this stature.
And finally, to our magnificent audience for your incredible love and support throughout!We painted a picture, and you all built the puzzle pieces with us!Archery Premier League Season 1 is signing off. Thank you for making history with us. See you next season!”