Mumbai: World Archery and Sony Pictures India Private Limited have renewed their exclusive rights agreement that sees the linear broadcast of international archery tournaments on their network and digital platforms across the Indian subcontinent.
The new deal runs for the upcoming season, including events on the 2021 Hyundai Archery World Cup and the 2021 Hyundai World Archery Championships. The exclusivity covers India, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and the Maldives.
India has already secured four quota places to the postponed Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games but will look to upgrade its single women’s spot to a team ticket at the final qualification event in Paris in June.
The nation recently announced its Olympic and international team for 2021. It is led by top archers Deepika Kumari and Atanu Das, who were married during the pandemic and the couple are likely to compete together in the mixed team competition in Tokyo.
India will host the Commonwealth Shooting and Archery Championships in early 2022.
Rajesh Kaul, Chief Revenue Officer, Distribution and Head – Sports Business, Sony Pictures Networks India: “Indian archers have always led the path at international sporting events and made the country proud and our endeavor is to grow the appeal of archery as a sport. We are delighted to continue our association with World Archery to showcase some of the best talents the country has produced.”
Prof Dr. Ugur Erdener, World Archery President: “India is among archery’s leading competitive nations. With so many talented archers, it is more a case of when, not if, the team climbs the Olympic podium. We’re proud to partner with Sony to give these incredible athletes the coverage they deserve.”
