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Martin Damsbo returns to final fours after 10-year absence at Shanghai 2026

08 mai 2026

Shanghai, China

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Martin Damsbo ended a 10-year wait for an individual World Cup medal match by reaching the compound men final four at the second stage of the 2026 Hyundai Archery World Cup in Shanghai.

The Paris 2013 Archery World Cup Final Champion – who has represented Denmark every year on the international circuit since the opening season in 2006 – was one of three shoot-off winners in the compound men’s quarterfinals, with Sahil Rajesh Jadhav, Nicolas Girard and Sebastian Garcia Flores progressing to Saturday’s stage.

France’s Girard was the only archer to advance without a shoot-off, defeating Bangladesh’s Aishwarzo Rahman 147-145 after five ends.

Damsbo and India’s Kushal Dalal could not be separated at 147 apiece after 15 arrows in an overcast Shanghai, mirroring each other’s scores in three of the five ends. The Dane led after the second end before Dalal levelled the match in the fourth with a perfect 30 against Damsbo’s 29.

“It was a hard day to be old out there today, I think... I feel like it,” joked the 40-year-old, whose 10 in the shoot-off landed closest to the centre spot. “It’s great to be back.”

Damsbo said Denmark’s regular presence in team medal matches meant he never truly felt like he had disappeared from the elite level, but returning to an individual final four still carried special significance.

“The level is just so high,” he said. “Years ago, if you shot well, you won. Now, you also need a little bit of luck to keep going.”

Damsbo admitted he was relieved his X-liner in the shoot-off proved enough to advance.

“I shot a good arrow, and these days that’s not always enough,” he said. “So I was really happy to see it hold up.”

For Damsbo, the result is one built on consistency over nearly two decades competing at the highest level.

Martin Damsbo posting at the target after winning his quarterfinal at Shanghai 2026.

He is one of the few athletes still competing from the World Cup circuit’s inaugural season, alongside India’s recurve men’s archer Tarundeep Rai, who also remains active on the international tour.

Nearly two decades after Porec 2006, Damsbo continues competing at the highest level while balancing work, coaching and family life as the sport around him has evolved dramatically.

The 2012 European Championship silver medallist has witnessed compound archery’s growth firsthand, right up to its inclusion at the LA28 Olympic Games, which has also brought increased funding to the Danish compound programme.

“It’s wrong to say that you always go out to do your best and try to win, but I’m also realistic about competing against full-time shooters, young guys, and the funding that’s starting to kick in everywhere,” he said.

“I work anywhere from 40 to 80 hours a week, depending, plus shooting, plus coaching, plus everything,” he added when discussing his workload. “I always just try to be the best that I can be and, like I said, take the luck that it gives me, because I know it’s not an even field.”

“There are people here putting in way more than I’m able to do. I would love to do it, and I used to do it, but just life. So it’s really nice to still be teasing a little bit.”

Damsbo will now test himself further against a younger generation of archers as he faces Garcia Flores in Saturday’s semifinal, with either Jadhav or Girard awaiting in the gold medal match.

A victory would secure his first individual World Cup medal since bronze at Medellin 2016.

Finals begin tomorrow morning at Riverside Financial Plaza, with compound team medal matches followed by the individual final fours.