Porec hosts again Archery World Cup debut with record participation

  For the fourth time in sixth edition, the coastal town of Porec in Croatia will host the Archery World Cup debut next week. The participation is already set to be an all-time record with more than 350 archers on the field.   Porec has been a host of the Archery World Cup in all the editions but one (2007) and organised the very first stage, back in 2006. The Archery World Cup comprises four stages that will allow the top 7 athletes per category to qualify for the Final in Istanbul. They will be joined by one wild card from Turkey. The other legs will take place in Antalya (TUR), Ogden (USA) and Shanghai (CHN). The best mixed teams of the season will also to Istanbul to challenge the host.   During the 2011 World Cup, individual recurve archers will shoot a FITA Round (or a 70-metre Round in Ogden and Shanghai) in qualifications and then matches of 5 sets of 3 arrows at 70 metres (Olympic Round).   Individual compound archers will shoot the new 50-metre Round in qualifications and then matches of 5 ends of 3 arrows with cumulative scoring at 50 metres (Compound Round).   Teams and Mixed Teams will shoot respectively 4 ends of 6 and 4 arrows with cumulative scoring. Recurve teams will keep playing at 70 metres and Compound ones at 50 metres.   The Longines Prize for Precision will be awarded this year to the two compound athletes (one man, one woman) who shoot the most 10s during the World Cup.   While the World Cup is foremost an individual event, it will be particularly important this year for the teams as well. Only eight teams will be able to secure an early berth for the Olympic Games at the upcoming World Championships in Turin this July. There will be continental qualifications later on, but teams definitely want to qualify at the world championships to make their life way easier. With the level of archery rising in all parts of the world, the Olympic qualifications have become as challenging as ever and a good preparation during the upcoming World Cup stages will be key. To note, only recurve athletes go the Olympic Games and the British teams are qualified as hosts.   Let’s now have a look at the 7 individual favourites for a place in the World Cup Final and at the teams that have real chances of an Olympic qualification.   Recurve MenThe 2010 World Cup defender and young star Brady ELLISON photo (USA) is certainly hungry for more victories like Rafael NADAL still is on a tennis clay-court! Most of his main opponents were already at the Final in Istanbul: the Roger FEDERER of archery IM Dong-Hyun (KOR), his teammate KIM Woojin, Jayanta TALUKDAR (IND), Marco GALIAZZO (ITA) and Simon TERRY (GBR). The upraising one to watch is Crispin DUENAS (CAN).   On the team side, Korea remains the favourite. Their most dangerous contenders are usually India and Italy. The likes of Great Britain, USA, France, Canada, Ukraine, Poland, Russia and Malaysia are not far behind, followed by Spain, Germany, Turkey, Iran, Mexico, and Netherlands. China had to withdraw from Porec in the last minute and other countries not present in Porec are also in the run: Japan, Chinese Taipei, Myanmar or even Bangladesh. That makes already 22 teams...      Recurve Women The favourites for the top 7 are: KI Bo Bae (KOR), Natalia VALEEVA (ITA), Deepika KUMARI (IND), Justyna MOSPINEK (POL), Victoria KOVAL (UKR), Berengere SCHUH (FRA) and CHENG Ming (CHN)—the last two will miss Porec. Natalya ERDYNIYEVA (RUS) should not be forgotten either.   On the team side, Korea is still the powerhouse despite adding two young newcomers in the team, HAN Gyeonghee and JUNG Dasomi, who took the place of none the less than the current world champion JOO Hyung-Jung and the lady with the most wins in the World Cup YUN Ok-Hee. Their main opponents have been China and Russia during the last four years and since the Russian team is still very young, it could turn into a very serious threat. Countries like Italy, India, Colombia, Great Britain, Georgia, Chinese Taipei, Poland, Ukraine and the USA are definitely in the mix, while others like Denmark, Germany, Turkey and Mexico should not be counted out either. That is 16 teams...   Compound Men The magnificent 7: Sergio PAGNI (ITA), Braden GELLENTHIEN (USA), Reo WILDE (USA), Jorge JIMENEZ (ESA), Peter ELZINGA (NED), Martin DAMSBO (DEN) and Morgan LUNDIN (SWE).  While the compound teams will not fight for an Olympic qualification, they will certainly fight against the four-time defender at the world championships: the USA. In fact, the Americans won 5 out of the 8 team titles since compound made its debut at the world championships in Jakarta (INA) in 1995. France won in Indonesia, followed by Hungary in 1997. Norway earned the title in 2001.   In Porec, the main opponent of the USA will be France, Denmark, Great Britain, India, Italy, Sweden, Netherland, Russia and Switzerland.   Compound Women The current world champion AND world cup holder Albina LOGINOVA (RUS) photo will have a lot to play for this year! She will be challenged by Croatian favourite Ivana BUDEN, Gladys WILLEMS (BEL), Linda OCHOA (MEX), Jamie Van NATTA and Erika ANSCHUTZ (USA). Ashley WALLACE (CAN) just picked up an injury and had to withdraw from Porec. The current world No. 1 Nicky HUNT (GBR) is trying out the recurve bow this year!   In this category, the USA have not been as dominant as on the men’s side, winning two world titles. The last few years the main rivalry has been between the Americans and the Russians, the latter earning the world title in Ulsan. France has two world titles as well, while Italy, Belgium and Chinese Taipei have one. In Porec, the other favourites will be Great Britain, Germany, India, Iran, Mexico and Sweden. Stay tuned on www.worldarchery.org for our inside coverage of the Archery World Cup Stage 1 in Porec! Competitions start on 3 May.   World Archery Communication