Seasoned archer Atanu Das returns to the senior Indian team announced for the first and second stages of the Hyundai Archery World Cup 2025 in April and May, bringing a wealth of experience to the team that achieved decent success last season.
The 32-year-old, who last competed on the outdoor circuit at Paris 2023, missed last year’s action failing to qualify in the Olympic year selection trials.
“It feels good to be back,” said Das. “All the changes, risks are taken well, everything is going good as of now.”
Having made significant changes to his game – right from training approach to coach – Das finished third in the selection process held at the regional training centre of Kolkata last month, when the top four made it to the squad.
He is joined by Dhiraj Bommadevara, four-time Olympian Tarundeep Rai, both of whom were also part of India’s gold medal winning team in the first stage of the 2024 Hyundai Archery World Cup in Shanghai, and Parth Sushant Salunkhe in the recurve men’s line-up.
Salunkhe was individual champion at the 2023 World Archery Youth Championships in Limerick.
Das, who was part of India’s recurve men’s team that won silver at the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games, is also joined by his wife and former world number one Deepika Kumari, who returns to the women’s squad for the second year running after becoming a mother in December 2023.
