Contrast between tradition and surprises in the compound qualifications

Compound qualifications were held Wednesday morning at the Yuanshen Stadium, in the form of a 50-metre Round. The US athletes were present in force with several world champions and World Cup Final winners, while Korea showed they are ready to challenge them for the top spots in this division. 

Compound Men

Martin DAMSBO (photo) of Denmark opened with 60 points and was very consistent until the end to finish on top with 710 points. “My preparation was really good”, commented the former World Cup stage winner. “In Denmark we had really bad weather, however one and a half weeks before I travelled to Australia and had small 2 tournaments down there and very good practice. What’s more, there’s only two hours of time difference between Australia and here which helped me as well. The first step is done and now we’ll take one arrow after the other.” 

Newcomer Adam RAVENSCROFT (GBR), aged 31, tied DAMSBO’s score to place second in his first World Cup qualifications. Adam RAVENSCROFT surprised himself with second place. “I was coming on the trip more for experience than anything. I’ve been shoting OK in practice but something just came out of the box! In knowing there’s so much hard competition on the field, it plays with your mind. I had shakes, not every shot was perfect, but they seemed to go where they needed to. Now I’ve got to probably work harder to prove it to the end!” 

Braden GELLENTHIEN (USA), the World Cup Final winner in 2012, was in first place halfway through with 358 points, but dropped to third after 72 arrows. With 709 points, he was just a point ahead of Norway’s Morten BOE. The multiple time world champion Reo WILDE completed the top five with 705 points, ahead of Koreans MIN Lihong and KIM Jongho, who will be athletes to watch closely this week. 

World Cup Final champion from 2009 and 2010 Sergio PAGNI (ITA) was 8th ahead of teammate Mauro BOVINI. The French duo Pierre-Julien DELOCHE and Dominique GENET, who both competed at last year’s World Cup Final, placed 13th and 22nd, respectively. 

As expected, the US team finished on top of the men’s team ranking. However GELLENTHIEN, COUSINS, WILDE, WILLETT, who have all been world team champions and have won numerous individual honours, totalled only eight points more than Korea, a surprising second (2112-2104). Italy was third more than ten points behind, ahead of Australia and India. 

Compound Women 

The women’s competition proved full of surprises. The double world champion Albina LOGINOVA (RUS) took the lead from an early stage. She was challenged by Korea’s SEOK Ji Hyun in the second half, but recovered the first place in the end. The Russian athlete, who was not very happy with her score of 692, hopes to reach the finals and the podium as always. 

Erika JONES of the USA, the World Cup Final winner in 2011, finished in second place with the same score as LOGINOVA. “I started out not as I wanted, the arrows were not landing where I thought they should. I kept up my focus and worked hard and then I started hitting where my sight pin was. I started out far from great and totally turned it around, I feel really proud about that.” 

Mexico’s Linda OCHOA (photo) started very strongly for third place and was visibly delighted. “I want to keep my position and win a medal, either in individuals, in the team, or in the mixed team events. This is my goal. Of course, if I can win a medal in the three events it would be events better (she laughs).” 

OCHOA was followed in the ranking by the top Korean scorer SEOK Ji Hyun, who had not competed internationally for over two years. The Korean surprised herself with impressive scores in the first half, before losing concentration. Nonetheless she finished ahead of the double World Cup Final winner (2008 & 2012) Jamie VAN NATTA and newcomer Carli COCHRAN from the USA. Inge VAN CASPEL (NED) and Mino ABEDI (IRI) both scored 684 points to place 7th and 8th, respectively. Italians Marcella TONIOLI and Laura LONGO, Shanghai champions in 2012 and 2011, respectively, were 9th and 11th today. 

Great Britain’s Danielle BROWN, who placed second at the last World Cup Final, had a disappointing day (15th). “I have made some big technical changes recently with my new coach [Michael PEART], so from that point of view I suppose it went well”, commented the Paralympic champion.

In the team event, Korea challenged the USA for the top spot, leading by four points at the halfway mark. However the US ladies came out on top in the end, outscoring Korea 2062 to 2051. Italy was 4th ahead of Mexico. 

In the Mixed Team ranking, defending World Cup Final winners USA finished on top ahead of Korea and Great Britain. 

Eliminations will start later today and will go on until Friday at Yuanshen stadium, while the finals will be staged downtown at the Huangpu River shores, in the spectacular Pudong district, on Saturday and Sunday. Stay tuned for our live coverage on our website, facebook and twitter! 

World Archery Communication