Mixed team archery events tipped for Asian Games inclusion

The Olympic Council of Asia has added archery’s mixed team event to the Asian Games programme for Jakarta-Palembang 2018, bringing the total number of archery medals available to 10.

Until 2010, the Asian Games archery tournament consisted of recurve individual and team events. In Incheon in 2014, compound individual and team events were contested for the first time, sparking a surge in the competitive level of continental athletes in the discipline.

Recurve and compound mixed team competitions, where pairs consist of one male and one female athlete from the same nation and shoot the same bow style, are tipped to join the programme in 2018.

“Asia is the first to achieve one of the goals of our strategic plan, which is to have individual, team and mixed team events for both recurve and compound disciplines included in its continental multisport games,” said World Archery Secretary General Tom Dielen.

It was recently announced that the Pan American Games would also add a compound individual and mixed team competition ahead of Lima in 2019.

The mixed team was first included in the World Archery Championships in 2011 and is also a regular event on the Hyundai Archery World Cup circuit. It has been submitted for inclusion in the Olympic programme.

The archery competition at the next Asian Games in Jakarta-Palembang is scheduled to take place on 19-26 August 2018. The test event will take place on 25-31 October 2017.