Sony acquires rights for broadcast of archery events in Indian sub-continent

Sony Pictures Networks India Private Limited will telecast all international archery events of this year, including next month's World Championships, it was announced Thursday.

As per their exclusive broadcast deal with the World Archery, Sony Pictures Networks India Private Limited will telecast the events across eight territories of the Indian sub-continent -- India, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Maldives.

The agreement covers the World Cup season and the the World Championships in Netherlands (June 10-16) where next year's Tokyo Olympic quota places will be up for grabs.

"We expect this new partnership with Sony to leverage the excitement of our international calendar to engage people with archery in the lead-up to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games," World Archery President Ugur Erdener said in a release.

"Ever since Deepika Kumari's victory at the Commonwealth Games in 2010, Indian archers have come within a few arrow's widths of claiming titles at the sport's biggest events. Archery is a sport of precision, patience and practice -- and of rising popularity in the Indian sub-continent, where it is rooted in the region's culture and history.