Last and decisive stage

Shanghai: last and decisive stage of the World Cup again

Shanghai – 5 September 2011

The last Archery World Cup 2011 stage in Shanghai from 6-10 September is decisive for the qualifications to this year Final that will take place on 24-25 September in Istanbul (TUR). The top 7 in each individual ranking go to the Final, and many are still in the hunt.

For the fourth time in history (after 2006, 2009 and 2010) Shanghai hosts the fourth and last stage of the Archery World Cup. However, this year the gold and bronze medal matches of this leg will be played down-town by the river and the feet of the famous Shanghai TV tower next Saturday! During the week, the qualifications and eliminations will be played at the Yuan Shen stadium.

In the Archery World Cup, the athletes have four stages to earn points and only their top three results are compiled. Since last year, eight archers per category (recurve men, recurve women, compound men, compound women) will compete in the World Cup Final. That is the top 7 in the yearly ranking and one wild-card for Turkey in each category. However, a maximum of two athletes per country in the same category can take part in the Final. To note a tie in the World Cup ranking will be broken by the overall FITA World Ranking.

Istanbul, the recently announced candidate city for the 2020 Olympic Games, will also feature mixed team finals (the top mixed teams of the year versus Turkey).

After the three stages in Porec, Antalya and Ogden, eight athletes have already qualified for the Final. Let’s see who have the most chance to join them!

Recurve Men

The 2010 Archery World Cup Final winner from Edinburgh, Brady ELLISON (USA), has dominated again this category with none the less than three victories in a row! He is the first man to accomplish this feat, at the same time as compound archer Rodger WILLET JR. ELLISON has therefore a total of 75 points and the No. 1 seed guaranteed for the Final in Istanbul. Another athlete is already sure to qualify—Dmytro HRACHOV (UKR) who currently has 39 points. The Korean athlete OH Jin-Hyek will also probably make it to the final with his current 33 points. For the last four places, the race is wide opened between Gael PREVOST (FRA), DAI Xiaoxiang (CHN), Viktor RUBAN (UKR), Joe FANCHIN (USA), Laurence GODFREY (GBR) and Jake KAMINSKI (USA). The other recurve men would really need a top 3 result in Shanghai to have a slight chance to come back in the top 7.

Recurve Women

Two Korean athletes are already qualified: HAN Gyeonghee and JUNG Dasomi. This also means the third one, KI Bo Bae, is eliminated. KI finished 3rd in Edinburgh last year. The hunt for the last five places will really depends on the Shanghai results from CHENG Ming (CHN), Deepika KUMARI (IND), Pia Carmen LIONETTI (ITA), Alejandra VALENCIA (MEX), Natalia VALEEVA (ITA), Aida ROMAN (MEX) and Ren HAYAKAWA (JPN).

Compound Men

For the first time this season, compound athletes only shoot at 50 metres. One athlete really took advantage of it with three wins in the three stages: Rodger WILLET JR (USA)! Jorge JIMENEZ (ESA) may also sit on his 38 points and still have a good chance to qualify. There will be a tough battle between two champions for the second possible US spot. Braden GELLENTHIEN and Reo WILDE have both 33 points, but the latter has the disadvantage of having three results already. If he scores points in Shanghai, he will have to deduct the five points he earned in Porec. Two of the usual suspects for the Final, Dietmar TRILLUS (CAN) and Sergio PAGNI (ITA) have respectively 31 and 30 points. They will need however to score more points to ensure their qualifications. Amir KAZENPOO (IRI), Martin DAMSBO (DEN), Roberto HERNANDEZ (ESA), Pierre Julien DELOCHE (FRA) and Majid GHEYDI (IRI) are in the hunt.

Compound Women

Parsamehr MAHTAB (IRI), Laura LONGO (ITA) and Erika ANSCHUTZ (USA) have already qualified for the Istanbul Final. With 42 and 41 points, Marcela TONIOLI (ITA) and Albina LOGINOVA (RUS) have an advantage over their pursuers. Seyedeh-Vida HALIMIANAVVAL (IRI) currently has 32 points, Christie COLLINS (USA), 25, and Viktoria BALZHANOVA (RUS), 21. The likes of Diane WATSON (USA), Pascale LEBECQUE (FRA), Jamie VAN NATTA (USA) and para-athlete Danielle BROWN (GBR) still have some chances.

Mixed Teams

In recurve, the race to Istanbul concerns the USA, India and China. In compound, the USA have won the three stages so far and qualified for the Final.

Longines Prize for Precision

The Longines Prize for Precision for archery was launched in 2010. The two most precise archers of the World Cup season will win the trophy, a watch and a 5,000 Swiss francs prize. The recurve athletes compete for the Prize in even-years, while the compound athletes shoot for it in odd-years (2011). The athletes who shoot the most 10s during all individual qualifications and matches of the World Cup will win the Longines Prize for Precision.

In Compound Men, the American Rodger WILLET JR has a comfortable lead over teammate Reo WILDE (306 tens over 276)! There is however a tight race among several compound women: Parsamehr MAHTAB (IRI) with 200 tens, Albina LOGINOVA (RUS), 192, Laura LONGO (ITA), 189 and Erika ANSCHUTZ (USA), 188.

World Archery Communication