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Rishabh and Jyothi target LA Olympics, one step at a time
Rishabh Yadav and Jyothi Surekha Vennam won gold in mixed team, breaking records and preparing for the 2028 Olympics amid strong competition
Just days after compound archery’s mixed team was included in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, India’s Rishabh Yadav and Jyothi Surekha Vennam won gold in the event at the World Cup opening stage in Florida in April.
Since then, they have carried the momentum, breaking the world record in qualification at the Madrid World Cup in July and winning silver at the World Championships in Gwangju, Korea last month. Their exploits have taken India to the top of the world rankings in the mixed team event and provided a solid foundation to prepare for the LA Games.
Bigger the stakes, more the pressure. The seasoned Jyothi, one of India’s best compound archers, and Rishabh don’t want to think too far ahead and are focused on taking small steps toward preparing for the LA Games.
They are competing at the Archery Premier League here, alongside some of the world’s top archers, in a format that combines both compound and recurve disciplines. The league is being organised by the Archery Association of India at the Yamuna Sports Complex here.
Netherlands’ Mike Schloesser, who was part of the mixed team that beat the Indian duo in the final in Korea, women’s world No.1 and reigning world champion in compound Andrea Becerra, Tokyo Olympics champion Mete Gazoz and world No.1 in men’s compound, Mathias Fullerton, the six-team competition is giving Indian archers good exposure at home.
“It’s a good atmosphere for all of us to train and prepare right before the World Cup Final that starts in China (Nanjing) on October 14,” says Rishabh. “Only the top eight qualify for the finals and that’s what everyone is looking forward to. This league happening before a big event gives us quality training time with the best archers in the world,” says Rishabh, who is part of team Chola Chiefs in APL.
“There’s a lot of discussion with the top archers. We have five-time Olympic medallist Brady Ellison (US) in our team. We have team bonding sessions. All the experience they have we are getting to know, like what they speak during matches to their teammates and how they hold post- and pre-match meetings, everything. We pick his brains. He is open to talk about anything and everything. That’s great learning,” says the 23-year-old, who has learnt from one of India’s finest compound archers — Abhishek Verma.
He realises that there are more eyeballs on the compound mixed team now that it’s an Olympic event. But Rishabh would like to focus on the 2026 Asian Games in Japan.
“It’s step by step because next year we have the Asian Games. So, that will be one step forward to it. Then we have the World Championships in 2027 once again, where all the (LA Olympics) qualifications will take place. It’s going to be the top 12 teams, but how they want to pick those top 12 teams — we still haven’t had a roadmap on that yet. As soon as we have that, we can plan something. I don’t want to rush it or skip any steps.”
Asian Games champion Jyothi Surekha says the bonding between her and Rishabh shows on the field. “He is like my younger brother and we train together. We know each other’s strengths and weaknesses, and we have this thing that we are there for each other to support no matter what. The same reflects on the field.
“We didn’t expect the world record. We just focused on shooting our best, and fortunately we both shot really well that day. It was really overwhelming for us, and we continued the same form in that tournament and in the World Championships,” says the 29-year-old, who is competing for Kakatiya Knights in the APL.
