Indian archery ropes in NTPC as title sponsors

The de-recognised Archery Association of India on Thursday got a big boost, inking a three-year sponsorship deal with NTPC Limited, which will have the title rights for all national tournaments.

The partnership comes just a month before the elections of the national federation which has been suspended since 2012 for violation of sports code.

The NTPC will also have exclusive right to provide kits and apparels to Indian archery team for international participation.

"The ties will certainly strengthen archery in the country and will help India become a strong and vibrant archery nation in the world," administrator of the AAI and former chief election commissioner S Y Quraishi said in a statement.

"This partnership with AAI will go a long way in nurturing the potential of hidden talents in archery," NTPC executive director M S D Bhattamishra said.

This partnership is the biggest ever of its kind in Indian archery and from now all the national championships and national ranking tournaments will be named after NTPC for a period of three years, it added.

The AAI will annually host National Archery Championships in four age groups -- senior, junior, sub-junior and U-14, four National Ranking Archery Tournaments plus one final in senior, junior and sub-junior categories, instituting prize money to archers and coaches.