Vennam dwelling on new learning experiences, makes dream start to indoor season
This year has been a whole lot of new experiences for India’s Jyothi Surekha Vennam.
The reigning Asian Games Champion left her footprints in various disciplines of archery in 2024, with numerous podium finishes, including a hat-trick – three gold medals in three events – in the second stage of the Hyundai Archery World Cup stage 1 in Shanghai.
She also reached a career best – second – in the Sanlida World Rankings, made her World Archery Field Championships debut in September, and most recently won back-to-back gold medals at the Indoor Archery World Series in Luxembourg and Taipei.
She made a dream start to the Indoor season, indeed, shooting a perfect 900 for a 90-arrow round at the biggest indoor archery tournaments in Europe – the JVD Open in Eindhoven, Netherlands – before collecting her maiden indoor series win at the GT Open in Strassen.
India’s top compounder continued in the same vein for a second consecutive victory at the Taipei Archery Open held in Taoyuan City.
“I didn’t expect this kind of result,” Vennam said in her second appearance in Taipei after taking a silver medal last year. “It was a lot of fun competing here – I enjoyed my time shooting, interacting with other players here.”
But more than the results, she emphasised on the learnings and the experiences she took back home.
“The experiences have been amazing. There’s no secret to my consistent shooting. I was just doing my job – shooting and focused on the process.”
Someone very calm and focused on the field, Vennam admitted her personality complements her game.
“I just go with the flow. I focus on one shot at a time,” said the three-time gold medallist from the Asian Games in Hangzhou.
“I have started to trust myself more over the years. I analyse my shots better and I am like always with the thought of staying positive and never give up.”
The mixed pairing with seasoned Abhishek Verma has been another learning experience for Vennam, who acknowledged the guidance of her senior compatriot.
Despite plentiful of podium finishes including a team gold at the Hyundai World Archery Championships in 2023, Vennam singled out the 2019 world championships bronze medal as the turning point of her career.
“That medal gave me the confidence and belief that I can win individual medal at the biggest stage.”
With fewer competitions in the 2024 calendar due to the Olympic Games, this was an opportunity for compound archers to analyse their game and improve their world rankings. Vennam made the most of it.
The coming year will be much busier, and she feels the strong indoor season will put her in a good stead heading into 2025, a year that will include the World Championships, the Asian Championships, four World Cup stages and a World Cup Final.
A podium finish at the end-of-season grand finale – the Hyundai Archery World Cup Final – being one of Vennam’s main objectives.
“You never know,” she said. “I am keeping my fingers crossed.”
For now, focus is on making the cut at the upcoming Indian selection trials.
