Preview: Compound women’s field too close to call at Nanjing 2025

There’s a big Sara Lopez-shaped hole in the line-up for the Nanjing 2025 Hyundai Archery World Cup Final.

The nine-time champion, who would have been defending the title she won in 2024, will not compete at this year’s season closer. She has not been active on the outdoor circuit in 2025, aside from an anonymous performance in Central Florida.

World number one Andrea Becerra, the stage winner in Florida and now the reigning World Archery Champion, will be very much present – hoping to become the first archer since Lopez to hold both the world and World Cup titles at the same time.

World number two Ella Gibson looks to be her biggest challenger, and it would surprise no one to see them meet in a blockbuster final in China.

Finals for the compound women in Nanjing start at 10h00 (local) on Saturday 18 October. Live stream with a subscription to archery+.

Line-up

The top two seeds are listed in bold and will be placed at opposite ends of the bracket. A match draw will determine the positions of the remaining archers.

• Andrea Becerra, Mexico (stage winner, world number one)
• Ella Gibson, Great Britain (stage winner, world number two)
• Madhura Dhamangaonkar, India (stage winner)
• Zhang Xinyan, China (host nation)
• Jyothi Surekha Vennam, India
• Alexis Ruiz, USA
• Mariana Bernal, Mexico
• Hazal Burun, Türkiye

Bold prediction

Becerra has had the upper hand over Gibson in both their outdoor meetings this season – at Yecheon 2024 and at the Chengdu 2025 World Games. But that doesn’t guarantee a repeat result. The fiercely competitive Gibson is more than capable of turning the tables.

Neither archer has yet won a World Cup Final, although Gibson was runner-up in Tlaxcala in 2022. She’s the only athlete in this field to have previously stood on the World Cup Final podium, meaning that whatever happens in Nanjing, a new champion will be crowned.

Of the rest, Jyothi Surekha Vennam, the world number three, looks the most dangerous. She took silver in Madrid earlier this season but hasn’t quite reached her best form outdoors in 2025.

It’s hard to see anyone else breaking through, although the ambitious Madhura Dhamangaonkar, who won the Shanghai stage, could mount another serious challenge.

All four – Gibson, Becerra, Vennam and Dhamangaonkar – were in action at last week’s Archery Premier League in India, gaining nearly two weeks of high-pressure match experience that could prove invaluable in Nanjing.

But this is an evenly matched field – and anything could happen.