CHENNAI: A year after emerging as the champion in the World University Games in Germany, compound archer Sahil Jadhav has grown exponentially. In addition to leaping to a career-best 18 in the world rankings, the archer from Satara in Maharashtra won his first Archery World Cup medal in Shanghai last month — a bronze medal in the men's individual compound event.
Following that medal-winning effort, he excelled during the Asian Games selection trials at the SAI centre in Sonepat later in May to earn himself a spot in the team. While renowned names like Abhishek Verma missed out, Jadhav made the cut alongside Kushal Dalal and Thirumuru Ganesh Maniratnam in the men's compound contingent.
The excitement is palpable. Jadhav now aims to make the most out of the upcoming Archery World Cup Stage 3 in Turkey, beginning on Tuesday. The 25-year-old is looking to use the upcoming event and Stage 4 of World Cup (Madrid) as a springboard ahead of Asiad.
"We are trying to identify and rectify mistakes. We need to find out where we crack under pressure, be it in both team and individual events," he told this daily from Sonepat, hours before leaving for Turkiye.
Preparing for an unforgiving sport like archery involves a lot of repetition and consistency. From the position of the face to keeping a stable stance, everything requires a lot of attention. For Jadhav, it is all about keeping it simple, and believing in what has worked so far for him.
"Right now, we're just trying to solidify the shooting form, for any given situation. There's no time to try something new. We have the World Cup on Tuesday and 15 days later, there is another World Cup. So if I was to try something new, it would take time to set the shooting form," he said.
Before his gold at the university games, the archer had endured a tough period. He had missed out on the Archery World Cups and the 2025 World Championships in South Korea by narrow margins. All was not well at his home too. He had lost his job in 2022 and his father, Rajesh Jadhav, also did not have a stable income. His mother had to pawn her jewellery to keep the family afloat.
"It has changed a lot (now)," he described the current situation, before adding, "the financial issue at home has reduced a bit. The mood amongst the family members has changed for the better. They look at the sport in a positive way, even if any tournament goes bad," he said.
While his success has brought happiness to his loved ones, a sense of expectation has accompanied it, Jadhav said. "Every tournament is important for me. Not like specific games or any World Cup. I do have expectations, but they don't bother me. I prepare myself to give my 100%. The rest will follow."
That way, the archer wants to keep his focus intact ahead of his first Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya. He reckoned the competition would be tough. "It will be the same as last year's Asian Championships in Bangladesh. There, we got the silver medal (in the team event), but this time we hope it is gold," he said.