New Delhi, Apr 11 (IANS): The Sports Authority of India (SAI) has approved a total amount of Rs 75 lakh to host the Khelo India National Ranking Women Archery Tournament over six phases.
Tata Archery Academy, Jamshedpur (Jharkhand) is set to host the first phase of the tournament on April 12 and 13.
The tournament will be held across the recurve and compound events in the senior, junior and cadet categories, and will be conducted as per the World Archery Rules. The Archery Association of India (AAI), in collaboration with the Jharkhand Archery Association and Tata Steel, are organising the tournament.
Top 32 recurve and compound archers in senior, junior and cadet categories have been selected to be a part of the tournament based on the recently-concluded national championships. Archers who have also met the Minimum Qualification Score (MQS) in any of the International Championship/Nationals/Selection Trials/Khelo India tournaments/State Championship/State Selection Trials in 2021-2022 have also made the cut.
The six Women's National Ranking tournaments will be held every alternate month with the final phase scheduled for December 2022. The cumulative points of the five phases shall be calculated to arrive at the ranking of the top 16 archers for the final phase in December wherein the top 16 archers shall be given cash awards, amounting to a total of Rs 37.5 lakh.
The National Ranking Women Archery Tournament is yet another endeavour by the Khelo India's Sports for Women component, which takes the most necessary steps to power more female participation in a wide array of sports competitions. The support extends to not only giving grants but also helping in the proper organization and execution of the events. Past competitions include the U-17 Khelo India Football League and the Khelo India Women's Hockey League (Under 21), held across three phases of the tournament in New Delhi and Lucknow.
The Khelo India National Ranking Women Archery Tournament, now, will provide more competition and exposure at domestic levels for second, third and fourth lines of archers, in line with Women Empowerment. This will also help to provide them exposure to matches to develop their mental toughness and competitiveness.