Government Includes 7 Compound Archer in its Flagship TOPS Core Grou

The government of India has included seven compound archers in its flagship Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) core group. For the first time, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has included the compound archery event at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. 

Considering this, the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has included seven archers in the TOPS for the first time.

The total number of archers in the TOPS for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics is now ten, with three recurve archers, Dhiraj Bommadevara, Ankita Bhagat, and Deepika Kumari, already on the list.

Archers who have been included?

The  Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has included the compound archers -Ojas Deotale, Jyothi Surekha Vennam, Aditi Swami, Abhishek Verma, Parneet Kaur, Prathamesh Jawkar and  Priyansh in the TOPS core group.

Aditi Swami and Ojas Deotale won the women's and men’s compound titles at the 2023 World Archery Championships in Berlin, Germany.

At the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games, Jyothi Surekha Vennam won gold in the women's individual compound archery event, while Abhishek Verma won silver in the individual event.

Recently, Jyothi Surekha Vennam teamed up with Rishabh Yadav to win the only gold medal for India in the mixed event at the Archery World Cup 2025 Stage 1  held in Auburndale, Florida, in the United States of America in April 2025.

Parneet Kaur, Priyansh and Prathamesh Jawkar are excellent archers in team events.

About the Target Olympics Podium Scheme (TOPS) 

The Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports launched the Target Olympics Podium Scheme (TOPS) in September 2014.

The TOPS aims to identify and support talented men and women athletes so that they can win medals in the Olympics and Paralympic Games.

High Priority Sports

Under TOPS, the ministry supports athletes in six sports: Boxing, Archery, Badminton, Shooting, Hockey and Wrestling.

The ministry helps the chosen athletes procure sports equipment, provides the services of foreign coaches, provides monetary help for participation in international competitions, and also provides a monthly stipend of Rs 50,000. 

The TOPS Elite Athletes’ Identification Committee, constituted by the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, chooses the athletes.

Also Read: 

India finishes 4th at the Archery World Cup 2025 Stage 1 in Auburndale