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Ajay Scott beats World Champion Nico Girard in Lausanne shoot-off for first gold

1 November 2025

Lausanne, Switzerland

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Ajay Scott secured his first international individual gold in dramatic fashion at the Swiss Open Lausanne 2025, winning the compound men’s final on Saturday night.

Facing Nicolas Girard, the reigning World Archery Champion outdoors, the 22-year-old Brit matched his opponent arrow for arrow – the pair finishing the five-end match tied on 148 points apiece (29, 30, 29, 30, 30).

Both shot 13 10s, averaging 9.81 points per arrow. As the target judge confirmed the result, they shared a smile and handshake, acknowledging each other’s excellence at the World Archery Excellence Centre – aptly named for the quality on display.

The shoot-off, however, was less precise. Scott’s arrow landed a nine just above the 10-ring, while Girard’s dropped low into the nine-ring, drawing gasps from the crowd. They were only the fifth and sixth nines across the 32 arrows shot in the final.

“I don’t know if it was expected or not, but I felt really good coming into it,” said Scott, the Rhine-Ruhr 2025 FISU World University Games runner-up. “Practice at home was good. The qualifications felt really nice – I equalled my personal best – and then the head-to-heads just kept flowing, so I was really happy about that also.”

“The bow’s different, but nothing else really. I’m just going through my same old routine, and it’s paying off, I guess. I said to myself, ‘keep it going, keep strong, keep it pulling’.”

“I finished the shot [in the shoot-off] as well, which is what I’ve got in my head when I’m shooting.”

Scott became the first senior British archer to win in Lausanne since the event was added to the Indoor World Series three years ago – and this was also his first career victory over Girard.

The Frenchman, the current European Indoor Champion, had beaten Scott twice last season on the circuit – in Nimes (149-147) and at the GT Open (150-148) – and again outdoors at Madrid 2025, where he won their shoot-off in the searing Spanish heat.

Nicolas Girard shooting the background as Ajay Scott pulls a funny face.

This time, in the calm, air-conditioned setting of Lausanne, it was Scott who had the edge.

After the Gwangju 2025 Hyundai World Archery Championships, Scott wrote on Instagram that he wanted to “hit the ground running” this indoor season – and he has delivered.

“You’ve got the added pressure of the crowd and trying to keep the timing,” said the Shanghai 2025 mixed team gold medallist. “The shoot-off arrow was the most difficult one because you’re trying to make it as perfect as you can. Some over-aiming can happen, but I felt like I kept it good even though maybe it wasn’t the best shoot-off.”

Scott’s semifinal was another highlight – his first-ever perfect 150 indoors – shot against Marco Morello.

The Italian went on to claim bronze, defeating compatriot Marco Bruno 149-147. It was a remarkable achievement considering it was Morello’s first competition as a compound archer after years shooting recurve.

Only two months ago, he won silver at the Walbrzych-Ksiaz 2025 European Field Championships as a recurver.

“I made the change because I wanted to try something new,” he explained. “For some years I shot both only in Italy – recurve internationally but compound at my club. I was third in my compound team and realised I liked it, so I slowly made the change.”

It’s a fast start for Morello – and perhaps an early indication of what’s to come. Could he make Italy’s compound team next year? Time will tell.

As the senior finals concluded, the over-50 and under-21 finals are scheduled for Sunday evening, with live coverage available on archery+.