The 2023 Indoor World Series 250 – Taipei Archery Open is being held at Taoyuan NTSU Arena for the second consecutive year. The qualification rounds took place on the 8th December, with Chinese Taipei and India dominating the men’s recurve and women’s compound events in the morning. Tokyo Olympic silver medalist and local archer “Tang Bao” TANG Chih-chun, along with this year’s Hangzhou Asian Games triple gold medalist VENNAM Jyothi Surekha, secured the top spots.
The Indoor World Series is open to both professional and amateur archers, with events in men’s and women’s recurve and compound bows. The shooting distance is 18 meters, much closer than the 70 meters in the Olympics, but the target face is smaller, demanding concentration and stability comparable to the Olympics. The event also includes seminars to provide an opportunity for archery enthusiasts worldwide to enhance their skills.
In the qualification round, each archer shoots 3 arrows in a round, totaling 20 rounds, with a maximum score of 600 points. TANG Chih-chun ranked first in the men’s recurve with an impressive score of 593 points, followed by Lin Zih-Siang with 591 points, who secured the Paris Olympic qualification last month, and Tai Yu-Hsuan with 589 points, forming the “Tang Bao Generation,” as they are classmates and senior-junior relationships.
“Although the target is small, the distance is much closer, and the key is that there is no wind. As long as you follow your own rhythm, it’s fine,” said TANG Chih-chun. He expressed satisfaction with the score of 593 points, considering it as an opportunity to adjust his mindset and try different distances.
With participants from 19 countries and over 400 archers, TANG Chih-chun, an international archery celebrity, held a small meet-and-greet after the competition, taking photos with many archers. He said, “I am very happy. Although I don’t know most of them, they are all archery enthusiasts. Coming to Taipei to promote archery together, I think it’s great!”
In the women’s compound bow qualification round, the “Indian Legion” VENNAM Jyothi Surekha, KAUR Parneet, and KIRAR Muskan claimed the top three spots with scores of 594, 589, and 585 points, respectively. The first two are members of the gold medal-winning team at the Hangzhou Asian Games. VENNAM, who also won individual and mixed team gold medals, is the big winner of this Asian Games.
“I am here in Taipei for the fourth time, but it’s my first time participating in an indoor competition,” said VENNAM shyly. “It’s all quite fresh to me. I just want to give my best performance and am glad to be in the lead.”
Vennam’s father is a kabaddi player, and she has a keen interest in sports. Starting swimming at the age of 3, she created the record for the youngest person in Indian history to swim 5 kilometers across the Kuishi River in 3 hours and 20 minutes at the age of 5. At the suggestion of her parents at the age of 11, she took up archery and said with a smile, “Now, archery is my favorite sport.”
VENNAM won her first international gold medal in women’s singles at the 2015 Asian Championships in Bangkok. She has consistently added numerous medals to her collection almost every year since then. This year’s World Cup stages in Paris, Antalya, and Shanghai all witnessed her gold medal performances, making her a well-known figure. With the triple gold at the Hangzhou Asian Games, she exclaimed, “I am really happy. Can I ask for more?” with a smile.
