Shillong, Aug 12: South West Khasi Hills took the lead in the Meghalaya State Archery Championship 2026 after topping the Indian Round on Wednesday, the second day of the competition at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) centre on the NEHU campus.
The three-day championship, organised by the Archery Association of Meghalaya (AAM), began on Tuesday, with the Indian Round events being completed on Wednesday. However, the overall medal race remains open, with the recurve and compound events scheduled for the final day on Thursday.
South West Khasi Hills finished the Indian Round with five gold, four silver and four bronze medals to take the top spot. West Khasi Hills were close behind with four gold, two silver and five bronze medals, while East Jaintia Hills secured third place with three gold, two silver and two bronze medals.
East Garo Hills were fourth with three gold, one silver and two bronze medals, making them the highest-ranked district from the Garo Hills. East Khasi Hills completed the top five with one gold and four silver medals.
All districts, except North Garo Hills, managed to win at least one medal on the opening day.
The Indian Round was contested across sub-junior, junior and senior categories for both male and female archers, with competitions held in individual, team and mixed-team events.
The Indian Round is a competitive archery discipline that uses traditional bamboo, cane or wooden bows and arrows while following a format similar to modern competitive archery. Introduced in India in 1989, Meghalaya’s Woodward Sohliya was among the pioneers associated with its development.
The discipline has helped make competitive archery more accessible, as the equipment is considerably more affordable than modern recurve and compound bows. It also helps preserve indigenous archery traditions while providing a grassroots pathway for young archers to enter the sport.
The championship will conclude on Thursday, with all recurve and compound events scheduled to be held on the final day.
