The Archery Premier League returns to Hyderabad from October 8 to 18, featuring a format that combines recurve and compound archers in mixed teams. Its rules include a 15-second shot clock and a hit-or-miss shoot-off to finally decide tied matches
Published Date – 9 October 2026, 03:48 PM
Hyderabad: As the Archery Premier League (APL) returns for its second edition, excitement is building around the event, which features India’s Asian Games medallists, veteran stars and some of the world’s leading archers. APL Season 2 runs from October 8 to 18 at People’s Plaza on Necklace Road in Hyderabad.
So, what sets the Archery Premier League apart from major international competitions such as the Asian Games and World Cups? Here is an explainer of the APL rules, including its 15-second shot clock and thrilling hit-or-miss shoot-off.
What is unique about APL?
One of the league’s distinctive features is that recurve and compound archers compete together in a mixed-team format. On the international circuit, team events are organised separately for men and women in both disciplines, alongside mixed-team events in recurve and compound. In the APL, however, some of the world’s best recurve and compound archers compete side by side.
Another major attraction is the 15-second shot clock. Each archer has roughly 15 seconds to shoot an arrow, adding pace and pressure to the contest.
The league also features a hit-or-miss shoot-off to decide matches that remain tied after the regular sets.
The distances and target sizes remain the same as those used in international competitions. Recurve archers shoot at a target 70 metres away, with a diameter of 122 cm, while compound archers shoot at a target 50 metres away, with a diameter of 80 cm.
Team composition
Each of the six franchises has an eight-member squad comprising four men and four women. Six archers are Indian, while two are international competitors.
The squad is divided equally between the two bow disciplines: two male and two female recurve archers, and two male and two female compound archers.
The six franchises are Mighty Marathas, Rajputana Royals, Prithviraaj Yodhas, Kakatiya Knights, Chero Archers and Chola Chiefs. Together, they feature 36 Indian and 12 international archers.
League format
The six teams compete in a double round-robin format, with each franchise facing the other five teams twice. Every team plays 10 league matches, resulting in 30 matches during the league stage.
The top four teams advance to the semi-finals, with the winners progressing to the final. Three matches are scheduled for each evening.
A team earns two league points for a win and none for a loss. If teams are tied in the standings, the tie-breakers are set-point difference (total set points earned minus total set points lost), head-to-head results and, if necessary, average arrow score.
How does a match play out?
Each team fields four archers at the start of a match: one male and one female archer in each of the recurve and compound disciplines. At least one international archer must be in the lineup at all times.
The toss determines which team shoots first or which targets a team chooses to shoot at.
In each set, every archer shoots two arrows, giving each team a total of eight arrows. Each team has 120 seconds to shoot its eight arrows, with the archers shooting alternately between the two teams.
The team with the higher combined score out of 80 wins the set and earns two set points. If both teams score equally, each receives one set point, while the losing team gets none.
The first team to reach five or more set points wins the match. If the score is tied 4-4 after a maximum of four sets, the match is decided by the APL hit-or-miss shoot-off.
The time allocation differs from that of conventional international team events:
World Archery team event: 120 seconds for six arrows, averaging 20 seconds per arrow.
World Archery mixed-team event: 80 seconds for four arrows, averaging 20 seconds per arrow.
Archery Premier League: 120 seconds for eight arrows per team, averaging 15 seconds per arrow.
Shot clock explained
Each team has 120 seconds to shoot eight arrows in a set. The teams alternate shots until all 16 arrows — eight per team — have been shot.
When the first team’s clock starts counting down from 120 seconds, an archer enters the shooting area, crosses the one-metre line and shoots an arrow. After shooting, the archer returns behind the one-metre line, at which point that team’s clock stops.
The second team’s clock starts immediately after the first archer completes the shot and returns behind the line. An archer from the second team then enters the shooting area and takes a shot.
The teams continue alternating in this manner until all eight arrows from each team have been shot. Each team has 120 seconds for its eight arrows, making the total time allocated for a set 240 seconds.
Can changes be made?
Although four archers line up at the start of a match, each team can make up to two substitutions during the match to use the depth of its squad.
An archer who has been substituted out cannot re-enter the lineup. At least one international archer must remain in the lineup at all times.
The thrill of APL’s hit-or-miss shoot-off
If a match reaches 4-4, it goes to a shoot-off involving four archers from each team.
In international competitions, shoot-offs generally extend the regular scoring format: archers shoot for points, and the team with the higher score wins. If the teams remain tied, the arrow closest to the centre determines the winner.
The APL uses a different format. The shoot-off target has no scoring rings to distinguish between different scores. Instead, it features a yellow inner spot surrounded by red. An arrow that hits the yellow spot counts as a HIT, while an arrow landing in the red area counts as a MISS.
The designated yellow spot corresponds to the X-ring on a standard target. It measures 4 cm across for compound archers shooting from 50 metres and 8 cm for recurve archers shooting from 70 metres.
Each of the four archers from a team shoots one arrow, aiming to hit the yellow spot. The team with more hits wins the match, making accuracy under pressure decisive.
Sudden death
If the teams remain tied after the regular shoot-off, the match goes to sudden death.
One archer from each team, selected by the respective teams, shoots one additional arrow. If one archer hits the yellow spot and the other misses, the match ends.
If both archers hit or both miss, another sudden-death round follows. The teams select from their remaining three archers, and the process continues until a winner is determined.
