Archer Priyansh aims to hit the bull's eye consistently
In a tense final of the men's compound archery at the national ranking tournament, the two contestants, one a veteran and the other 13 years his junior but the top-ranked in the country, found a light moment. The scores were tied at 58-58 in the third round when the announcer praised 22-year-old Priyansh's body language. The 35-year-old Abhishek Verma took the opportunity to pull Priyansh's leg before they resumed taking aim at the target.
Abhishek won the final with 148 points, but Priyansh (146), ranked 6th in the world, kept snapping at the veteran's heels till the last round. When asked about the banter between the two during the final, Priyansh said, 'Abhishek bhaiya was joking with me today when the commentator was talking about my body language. When I was selected to the senior team last year, the likes of Abhishek bhaiya guided me.'
Priyansh, despite losing the final, is emerging from the shadows. 2024 was a breakout year for him as he won a total of four medals in the World Cups, two individual silver medals and one gold and silver in the mixed events.
Son of a media professional from Delhi, Priyansh picked up archery in 2018 and quickly rose up through the ranks winning the individual and mixed titles at the 2022 World Archery Youth Championships in Ireland.
'I started archery randomly. I used to play many sports and one day while going past the Yamuna Sports Complex, I saw people shoot with bows and it got me interested,' Priyansh told The Indian Express. 'In 2018, I took up the sport under the guidance of Lokesh Chand sir and that's how my archery journey started.'
After a strong showing at the World Youth Championships in 2022, Priyansh made it to the senior team and won a gold medal at the Asian Championships in Bangkok in 2023.
The transition from the juniors to seniors, had its own set of challenges.
'It was not very difficult for me as I knew everyone in the team already but from a competition point of view, it was not easy. At the senior level, the pressure is immense and it starts from the first arrow but it is not the same at the junior level,' Priyansh explained.
The high-quality competition at the national level is an advantage.
'Another thing that helps in transition is the competition at the National level. We have people winning World Cup medals and then competing at the junior nationals. It helps as the players get used to tough games very early in their career,' Priyansh added.
For Priyansh medals matter but he also wants to have fun while competing.
'I enjoy the sport and everything that comes with it. I think one of the reasons that I have been doing well is because of this mindset. I don't stress much about the sport, it makes everything easy for me,' Priyansh said. 'The best part of archery is the travel. I am fascinated by new cultures and I love meeting new people, it's a way of learning for me,' he added.
After joining the senior team, Priyansh has worked with Italian coach Sergio Pagni. 'Sergio, despite retiring, keeps participating in indoor tournaments for fun. He knows in and out of the compound bow.'
Focus on improving
Currently, the Indian men's compound team is stacked with players like Ojas Deotale, Rishabh Yadav, Prathamesh Fuge, Prathamesh Jawakar and Priyansh himself. Priyansh, who is less experienced compared to the others, wants to work on his technique and refine it further.
'All the other archers have been competing for a very long time and I am fairly junior compared to them. I have to work on my shooting technique. The muscle memory when holding the bow is a very important thing. I want to refine that along with achieving precision while shooting,' Priyansh explained.
Compound archery has made its way to the Olympics after years of waiting and 2028 Los Angeles Olympics will see the debut of the mixed team event.
When asked if he ever thought about becoming an Olympics, Priyansh said,'I had never thought of the Olympics as I was just starting out. I haven't played much at the international level, so the question of when I will play at the Olympics never crossed my mind.'
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