Quotes of Recurve Finals

 
Recurve Men  Brady ELLISON (USA) – gold individual and team medallist I knew, coming to Shanghai, that if I would shoot up to my standard I could win it. Last year when I lost my match, my opponent shot awesome. It was like I was shooting 29s and he was shooting 30s. This week I thought I had a good chance to win the “fourth major”. I don’t think many archers have done it: winning in Porec, Antalya, Ogden and Shanghai – the four places that hosted the most World Cup stages. So it makes me feel good that I achieved that.   This morning team and mixed team finals were useful for the afternoon one. This morning I was probably a bit too stubborn in my aiming but at the end I figured out where to aim. So in my first arrow in the individual final, I aimed and I shot a 10. With Coach LEE, we decided that we were not going to play too much with the wind – just keep doing the same thing.   Competition wise, I am happy to keep the momentum going. I am happy to defend the titles I have earned in the last two years, and at the same time it feels like my opponents really want to beat me. They want to beat the No. 1 in the world. However, in return, this is pushing me to do even better.   CHENG Chu Sian (MAS) – individual bronze medallist I was 4th in Shanghai in 2009. We shot the finals at the Yuan Chen Stadium that day because there was pretty much a hurricane going over the city. I am very happy I climbed on the podium this time. Of course, I came back from far in this game, but as long as I try my best I believe nothing is impossible. I also thought in the shoot-off that if I would try my best, give my best shot, I would be OK with a win or a loss. This time the few millimetres were in my favour.   Actually in a few days, this will be my 10th year anniversary in the national team. But I am still learning. Each match brings something more to learn.   Gael PREVOST - Thomas FAUCHERON – Romain GIROUILLE (FRA) – team silver medallists   Gael: The team changed for this event but stayed competitive. Thomas made some very good debut with us this week.   Thomas: I felt good the whole week. Of course, it is impressive to compete against such archers, the top in the world, and I have very little international experience. However, my shooting went well since the first day. The entire team played well, which helps. I am delighted we broke a team European record during the quarter-finals!   Romain: It is good to make finals and keep gaining experience of such field and level, but nevertheless we were in it to win gold; not silver. We need to keep giving us a chance to win at every event and keep raising our level for the upcoming European championships in May and, of course, the Olympic Games.   Thomas AUBERT – individual 4th place Of course I am a bit disappointed to have lost after winning 5 set points to 1, but I must say my opponent shot the last two sets very well (29,28) and my arrows were caught a bit by the wind. Then the victory was played out of millimetres in the tie-break.   Our coach told us to build our confidence out of this stage, in individuals and/or in teams. I think with the silver medal of my team-members and my fourth place, the mission is accomplished.   We have a very good group of archers and the internal qualifications for the three Olympic spots will be tough, but in the long-term this must help the team.   Recurve Women   LEE Sun-Jin (KOR) – team gold medallist I felt a bit of pressure in coming back into the team but it was alright. We had a good start and build a good lead over the Indian team in the first end. However, we kept focusing on our shoots. I hope I will come back to winning form also in individuals but today it is good to win with the team. Any gold medal has a great value.   Miranda LEEK (USA) – individual 4th place I am from Iowa in the USA so we surely have some wind there, too. I would not say it affected me. I thought my shots were well executed. I think I need a bit more experience on such final field, so it was good to be there.   Coaches   Teruo SHINKAI (JPN)   The two archers present in Shanghai are the ones who have won the Olympic quota for Japan. We will try of course to qualify a full team at the last Olympic qualifier in Ogden in June. Later on in the season, in September, we are looking forward to hosting the Archery World Cup Final in Tokyo!   More interviews will be published soon on www.archery.tv   World Archery Communication