Netherlands compound men pip USA trio to top seed in Antalya

Coming off the back of Medellin individual gold – his first World Cup stage title – long-time anchor of the Netherlands compound men’s team Peter ELZINGA qualified in pole position at Antalya.

Teammate Mike SCHLOESSER took the fourth seed and Ruben BLEYENDAAL’s 16th was enough to pip the USA team to the top spot in qualification during the last end.

“It was a tough day today, and you can see it on the scores overall,” said ELZINGA. “The wind was sometimes a little bit tricky, and I had to watch the spirit level a few times.”

Still, Peter is experienced enough to keep things in perspective: “It is a ranking round, and ultimately, it doesn’t count – it’s tomorrow and the next day when everything happens. But it felt good and I shot good, and the team did well.”

The Dutch compound team is riding high after mixed team silver, team silver and Peter’s long-awaited individual gold.

“We went to Columbia with no team managers and no coaches; it was a special trip that the team funded themselves when we shared a training camp out there with the recurves. But we are here at full strength with 12 archers and three coaches.” 

Perhaps surprisingly, ELZINGA is not shooting in the Dutch mixed team, despite his form. “We see the mixed team as a medal chance,” he said. “And the coach decided to go with Mike and Inge [VAN CASPEL], given how well they did together in Shanghai and Columbia. They’ve been training during the week as a pair.”

The Netherlands men’s compound team face Great Britain in the first round of team eliminations on Friday morning.

See results from the third 2014 Archery World Cup stage in Antalya, which runs from 11-15 June. Check event news, and visit World Archery’s Facebook page and @worldarchery on Twitter for coverage.