IVASHKO reaches the final by defeating world No. 1 ELLISON

The top 8 competitors of each category entered the competition in the 1/16 round as they were exempt from the first two rounds and some of them were given a hard time…   Recurve Men – 1/16The No. 1 in the world and No. 2 after qualifications in Antalya, Brady ELLISON (USA) shot a very bad match with sets of 27, 27, 27, and 28 points, very unusual scores for the World Cup winner 2011 and 2010 who was defeated 6-2 by Markiyan IVASHKO (UKR/31). Ukraine placed their three contenders in the 1/8 round after the Olympic champion Viktor RUBAN (41) upset Khairul Anuar MOHAMAD (MAS/9) 6-4 and Dmytro HRACHOV (20) defeated CHENG Shu Sian (MAS/13) 6-5, 10-9 in the shoot-off.   "Mamma mia", what happened to the Azzuri in the first round! All four of them were kicked out at the same time… Ilario DI BUO (ITA/32) was predictably beaten by the No. 1 seed IM Dong Hyun, (KOR) 6-2. In qualifications the Koreans beat the 70m Round individual and team world records. The 2004 Olympic champion Marco GALIAZZO (ITA/21) suffered defeat on the same score as his teammate DI BUO, beaten by Laurence GODFREY (GBR/12). Seeded 3rd and 7th respectively, the other two Italians Mauro NESPOLI and Michele FRANGILLI were defeated by Kerem KIRSEVER (TUR/30) after a shoot-off in which the two archers shot a 10 with the local's closer to the centre and by Rick VAN DEN OEVER (NED/39) 6-2.   The 20-year old Spaniard and new junior world record holder for the 70m Round, Juan I. RODRIGUEZ (8), won his first match against the experienced Magnus PETERSSON (SWE/40) by 6-2.   Recurve Men – 1/8 The reigning Olympic champion from Ukraine RUBAN (41) was tied with the promising young Spanish athlete RODRIGUEZ (8) after the first set (1-1), the second (2-2), the fourth (4-4) and the final set (5-5). Experience spoke in the shoot-off with RUBAN clinching victory with a 10 against a 9 for his opponent.   RUBAN's teammate IVASHKO (31) who upset the No. 1 archer in the world ELLISON in the previous round was again victorious against a better seeded archer Thomas FAUCHERON (FRA/18). The match between the Ukrainian and the Frenchman was close, however, with IVASHKO clinching victory in the very last end, 6-4.   The third representative of Ukraine, 2nd at the first stage in Shanghai this year, was as successful as his teammates. HRACHOV (20) defeated one of the Korean favourites, OH Jin Hyek (4), 6-5 after a shoot-off (10-9). The No. 1 seed IM (KOR) was tied 4-4 by JING Xiangqing (CHN/17) after four set but with a 29-point final end, the new record holder for the 70m Round both in individual and team came out victorious 6-4.   Recurve Men – Quarterfinals The quarterfinals of this division featured three Ukrainians (RUBAN, HRACHOV and IVASHKO) as well as three Koreans (IM, KIM Woojin and KIM Bubmin). The only other nations represented were Luxembourg with Jeff HENCKELS (46) and Mongolia with Gombodorj GAN ERDENE (71).   The three Koreans were all victorious and reached the semifinals: IM had a straight win over the Olympic champion RUBAN, 6-0; KIM Woojin beat another Ukrainian, HRACHOV, 7-3; while the other KIM, Bubmin, clinched victory 6-2 over the archer from Luxembourg HENCKELS. IVASHKO was the only Ukrainian who came out of this round as the winner after he easily defeated the Mongolian GAN ERDENE, 7-1.   Recurve Men – Semifinals As there were three Koreans in semifinals, one match was an all-Korean encounter and this match was tight from the very beginning to the very end! The top seed IM Dong Hyun took the lead 2-0 after the first set, but was caught up at 2-2 after KIM Woojin scored a perfect second set. KIM then took the lead, in turn, at 4-2. IM came back 4-4, and as the two scored exactly the same last set (10-10-9), the tie remained at 5-5. In the shoot-off IM had a perfect X10 arrow that overcame a good 10 by his teammate.   The second semifinal between the Korean KIM Bubmin and the Ukrainian IVASHKO was also tied after four sets (4-4). However, the European representative took advantage of an 8 from his opponent in the final set to clinch victory by 6-4. IVASHKO will shoot for 1st place against IM on Saturday.   Recurve Women – 1/16The Swiss Valentine DE GIULI (41) continued her journey with a third victory in a row but this time against a higher seeded contender, FANG Yuting (CHN/9) who finished 2nd in Shanghai three weeks ago. Victory 6-2! The team indoor world champion and individual silver medallist Miranka LEEK (USA/14) was also upset by the No. 19 seed YUAN Shu Chi (TPE) on the same score.   The encounter between the Indian teammates Deepika KUMARI (23) and Laishram Bombayla DEVI (10) also turned in favour of the lower seeded athlete. KUMARI clinched a straightforward victory 6-0! The two Brits left on the field had different fates. Seeded No. 26 Naomi FOLKARD (26) upset the No. 7 Alejandra VALENCIA (MEX), 6-2. Amy OLIVER (50) on the other hand conceded defeat after a shoot-off 7-9 against Karina WINTER (GER/18).   All four Koreans, LEE Sung Jin (1), CHANG Hye Jin (2), KI Bo Bae (4), and CHOI Hyeonju (13) all qualified for the 1/8 elimination round where KI and CHOI will face each other. The top seeded lady LEE will be up against CHENG Ming (CHN/16), while her teammate CHANG will face the German WINTER in the next round.   Recurve Women – 1/8 The exciting journey of DE GIULI (SUI/41) came to an end in 1/8 against TAN Ya-Ting (TPE/8) but the Swiss girl had another strong match in which she tied the 8th seeded competitor at 4-4. In the fifth set, the two contenders started with 10-9 each, but DE GIULI finished with a 7 that was not enough against an 8 for TAN.   The Korean match between the teammates KI (4) and CHOI (13) turned to the advantage of the less titled and lower seed with a straight win 7-1. Another top seeded Korean, CHANG (2), suffered defeat on the same score of 7-1, beaten by the German WINTER (18) in this round. Together with CHOI, the only other Korean lady left in the competition is the top seeded athlete in Shanghai, LEE, who was team Olympic champion and individual silver medallist in Athens 2004. LEE beat the Chinese CHENG Ming (16) 6-4 in this round.   Recurve Women – Quarterfinals Chinese Taipei placed three competitors in the quarterfinals; TAN Ya-Ting, YUAN Shu Chi and LIN Chia-En, with the last two facing each other in this round. Korea had two representatives, LEE Sung Jin and CHOI Hyeonju, while there was also XU Jing from China, Deepika KUMARI from India and Karina WINTER from Germany. The latter was the only non-Asian left in the race!   While LIN beat her teammate YUAN 6-4, the third competitor from Chinese Taipei TAN suffered a straightforward loss 0-6 against the Korean LEE. With the defeat of the second Korean, CHOI, 3-7 against the Chinese XU, both LIN and LEE were left alone on the field for their countries. The European WINTER could not prevent an all-Asian representation in the semifinals, losing 0-6 to the Indian KUMARI.   Recurve Women – Semifinals The recurve women's gold final on Saturday will feature the Korean LEE versus the Indian KUMAR but LEE was given a hard time in her semifinal against the Chinese XU as the two archers were tied after five sets and went to a shoot-off. As XU's tie-break arrow was a 9, LEE did better with a 10 for victory.   The second match was between KUMARI and the lady from Chinese Taipei LIN. The Indian took a 2-point lead 2-0, that she maintained 3-1 after two sets and increased to 5-1. A tie 27-27 in the fourth set gave one set point to KUMARI who clinched a 6-2 win.   Compound Men – 1/16In compound men the No 1 seed Reo WILDE (USA) was perfect in his first match against Daniel MOSER (AUT/33) who did not stand a chance, 150-142. The 2008 World Cup Final winner Dietmar TRILLUS (CAN/9) tied Reza ZAMANINEJAD (IRI/24) at 145-145, but he lost 9-10 in the shoot-off.   Paul TITSCHER (GER/29) upset the mixed team world champion and World Cup winner of 2009 and 2010, Sergio PAGNI (ITA/4) 148-146. Seeded No. 3, Martin DAMBSO (DEN) led Rajat CHAUHAN 119-118 (30-29, 30-30, 29-29, 30-30) but lost two points in the last end (28-30). The Indian defeated the 2010 winner in Antalya 148-147.   Julio Ricardo FIERRO (MEX/45), 2nd in Shanghai this year, survived a second shoot-off after one in the first round. The Mexican and the Briton Liam GRIMWOOD (GBR/13) both shot 10 in the tie-break, but FIERRO's was closer to the centre. Patrizio HOFER (SUI/34) and the second seeded Peter ELZINGA (NED) were both quite consistent and remained close, 115-115. In the final end the Swiss outscored the Dutchman 30-28 for a final score of 145-143.   Compound Men – 1/8 "Only" two U.S. archers could reach the quarterfinals after WILLETT lost in an early round and Dave COUSINS (11) and Braden GELLENTHIEN (6) were face-to-face in the 1/8. The match between the two teammates remained close and it was a tied at 147-147 after 15 arrows. In the shoot-off they scored 10 each but COUSINS’ was closest to the centre. After shooting a perfect first match of 150 points, the top seeded competitor WILDE dropped one point in his second, but still enough to quite easily defeat Patrick LAURSEN (DEN/16), 149-146.   The Frenchman Pierre Julien DELOCHE, No. 8 seed, was upset in this round by the Iranian ZAMANINEJAD (24), 146-144. CARDOSO's teammate FIERRO (45) finally hung up his hat after surviving two tiebreaks in the 1/48 and 1/16. The Mexican was beaten by the German TITSCHER (29), 147-144.   The French encounter between Dominique GENET (7) and Christophe DOUSSOT (42) turned to the advantage of the highest seed by three points, 148-145. The Swiss Patrizio HOFER (34), who beat the 2nd seed ELZINGA in the previous round, survived a shoot-off in 1/8 against Michael BROSNAN (AUS/15), 144-144 (10-9).   Compound Men – Quarterfinals The scores of the No. 1 American WILDE were close to perfection in his first three matches. After 150 and 149, he repeated 149 in his quarterfinal against the Iranian ZAMAMINEJAD with 147 for a 2-point victory. France's GENET was also impressive on the same score as WILDE, beating the Swiss HOFER with only 143.   The German TITSCHER was not bad either with 148 points for an easy win over the Mexican CARDOSO with 143. The second American still in the race in the quarterfinals, GELLENTHIEN, won his fourth consecutive shoot-off (!) of the day. GELLENTHIEN and the Indian CHAUHAN both shot a 10 in their quarterfinal's tie-break, but the one of the U.S. archer proved closer to the centre.   Compound Men – Semifinals The two Americans GELLENTHIEN and WILDE shot the highest score in semifinal (146) and will meet for the final victory on Saturday. GELLENTHIEN defeated the French competitor GENET by six points (146-140), while the match between WILDE and TITSCHER was tighter (146-144).   Compound Women – 1/16Six of the top 8 competitors won their first match of the day. The No. 3 Erika ANSCHUTZ (USA), however, was upset by one point (144-145) against Ma. Amaya Amparo R. PAZ (PHI/30). The 7th seed Ivana BUDEN (CRO) suffered defeat to Camilla SOEMOD (DEN/26). The two ladies were tied at 29-29, but BUDEN scored only 26 in the second end and went on to lose the match 138-143.   In a North American encounter, Ashley WALLACE (CAN/42) also beat a higher seeded contender, Diane WATSON (USA/10), by one point, 141-140. The newcomer in the German national team, Christina BERGER (GER/6) had a close match against the experienced Gladys WILLEMS (BEL/38). The match was tied at 87-87, but the German took a 1-point lead at 115-114, which she doubled in the final end to win 144-142.   Compound Women – 1/8 Only one American lady, Jamie VAN NATTA (USA/4), remained for the quarterfinals after Christie COLIN (5) was defeated by HALIMIANAVVAL (IRI/12) in 1/8 elimination, 139-145. VAN NATTA for her part had an easy 144-137 victory in this round against V. Jyothi SUREKHA (IND/52).   Two Russians will meet in quarterfinals after the victories of the world champion and top seeded Albina LOGINOVA over Caroline MARTRET (FRA/16), 139-139/9-8 and that of Viktoria BALZHANOVA (9) against Anastasia ANASTASIO (ITA/8), 142-140. A second Italian, Laura LONGO (43), was also defeated 142-143, by the German BERGER (6). However, one Italian was victorious in this round; Marcella TONIOLI (2), beat Inge VAN CASPEL (NED/18), in a shoot-off (142-142/10-9).   Compound Women – Quarterfinals There were three tie-breaks needed among the four quarterfinal matches! The Italian TONIOLI won 10-9 against the Dane SOEMOD. The American VAN NATTA and the Iranian HALIMIANAVVAL shot a 9 each, but that of the U.S. representative was closer to the centre for victory. The match between the two Russians LOGINOVA and BALZHANOVA had the same outcome for a win by the world champion, top seeded in Antalya.   The match between the German BERGER and the Dutchwoman Irina MARKOVIC turned to the advantage of the former national rifle shooter who started shooting archery only two years ago. BERGER took victory 143-141.   Compound Women – Semifinals The semifinal between the No. 2 TONIOLI and the No. 6 BERGER was very close and finished on a tie at 145-145. In the shoot-off both the Italian and the German hit the 10-ring but BERGER's arrow was judged closer to the centre. In the national team for the first season and competing in her first World Cup event, the German reached the gold final where she will have the difficult task of facing the reigning world champion LOGINOVA. The Russian, who scored the best total in qualifications, had a 3-point win (146-143) in the second semifinal over the No. 4 seed and reigning team world champion from the U.S. VAN NATTA.   The competition continues on Friday with all team elimination rounds up to the semifinals!   Stayed tuned at www.worldarchery.org!   World Archery Communication