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Estonia, Netherlands take first medals of new World Cup season

20 avril 2022

Antalya, Turkey

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Mike Schloesser and Meeri-Marita Paas made it 24 hours to remember at the first stage of the 2022 Hyundai Archery World Cup in Antalya as their respective Netherlands and Estonia compound teams won bronze medals this morning in Turkey.

Both archers had topped their individual qualification rounds yesterday and then both today ensured they would be returning home with at least one medal each.

Paas, whose competition-best result yesterday was also the first time an archer from Estonian had seeded top at any stage of the Hyundai Archery World Cup, went into the compound women’s team event as top seed as well, alongside her teammates Lisell Jaatma and Maris Tetsmann.

Their lowest score of the day was enough to see off France in the bronze medal match (230-229), having defeated the Netherlands (232-228) but lost to host nation Turkey (231-234) after a first-round bye.

“We aren’t quite used to the feeling yet, but later on in the evening we will probably burst into tears,” said Paas. “It gives us tremendous confidence and shows us that all the hard work we’ve done is paying off.”

“Last year we lost all our quarterfinals so we finally broke the curse,” added the 20-year-old.

World number one Schloesser’s Netherlands, completed by Stef Willems and Sil Pater, entered their bracket seeded sixth but beat number five qualifiers Great Britain, also with the Dutch men’s lowest score of the day, 233-232, to ensure a podium place.

“It was a first men’s team final for me so it was hard getting used to the feel of shooting in a three-man team but once we got to the final that’s where I’m strong,” revealed Willems after the match.

“When we trained in our home base I felt quite strange standing in the middle as I was used to standing at the back in the mixed team competitions, but here [in Turkey] it felt strong and with the extra pressure it felt like it’s supposed to be.”

Stef is making his Hyundai Archery World Cup debut this week in Antalya.

“I’m happy we got the job done. It will give us a lot of confidence as it’s the first time the team has shot together and we’ve come away with a medal,” he said.

The Dutch squad struggled in their first match after an opening-round bye, dropping two eights in the first end of their match against Poland. But they adjusted and the relatively inexperienced line-up – outside of Schloesser – went on to drop just one point in the remaining three ends to deliver a 235-227 victory, before following up with the same score again to see off Norway (235-226).

Jean Philippe Boulch and his formidable French side stopped their progress in the semifinals as they dropped just two points to hand Schloesser’s squad a 238-237 defeat.

France raised its game round-by-round, shooting 232 points first, then 237 – before beating the Dutch.

The compound men’s team final between India and France and the compound women’s team final between Turkey and Germany will take place on Saturday morning in Antalya’s temporary archery arena, built for this event next to Konyaalti beach.

Competition in Antalya continues this afternoon with recurve qualification.