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Haney and Fullerton tussle for compound men top seed in Shanghai

5 May 2026

Shanghai, China

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Emircan Haney posing next to his final end of six Xs.

Priorities changed quickly for Emircan Haney as he dramatically took the top seed in compound men at the second stage of the 2026 Hyundai Archery World Cup in Shanghai.

The defending circuit champion from Türkiye was flawless after 36 arrows and on course to break James Lutz’s recent world record of 719.

The beginning of the second half, however, spelled the end of that dream as he shot one nine and then another in the ninth end to bring his score to 538 from 54 arrows.

“The moment I saw that my shot had scored a nine, I immediately put that specific arrow out of my mind and shifted my focus entirely to my remaining shots,” said the Nanjing 2025 victor Haney, who shot five of his last six 10s in the X-ring – the central zone within the 10-ring used to break ties in qualification – to finish on 718. “That is how I proceeded through the rest of the round.”

Haney said he arrived in Shanghai intending to break the world record and believing he was capable of it despite “a few minor setbacks along the way”.

The Turkish archer was still “absolutely thrilled” with a national record and said his focus now turns to finishing the week with gold.

Still a remarkable accumulation, but Haney’s focus swiftly turned to reclaiming the number one spot as it became Puebla double gold medallist Mathias Fullerton’s turn to shoot perfectly in the second batch of qualification arrows.

Fullerton moved ahead and the pole could have been the Dane’s, but a nine in the final end – only his third of the afternoon session – denied him top seed at Yuanshen Sports Centre as he finished on 717.

Due to the sheer length of the 72-arrow qualification rounds, they rarely deliver the same level of drama as matches – but today was different.

Emircan Haney aiming during qualification at Shanghai 2026.

Shanghai remained sunny throughout, and with only a slight swirl of wind at the Yuanshen Sports Centre, conditions were close to perfect. There was still a noticeable gap between Haney, Fullerton and the rest, with third-placed Sebastian Garcia Flores of Mexico reaching 713 – his World Cup personal best – to complete a tantalising duel at the top.

Haney was also the top seed at the opening leg of the European Grand Prix Spring Arrows last weekend, and the 25-year-old credited his training regime since Puebla for such a fine performance.

“I’ve been working much more intensively on my mental focus. During my training sessions, I specifically incorporated exercises designed to help me fully immerse myself in the moment, to give my absolute all to the task at hand while out on the field.”

“Competing here today has confirmed for me that my approach was sound – that I was indeed focusing on the right things. I intend to maintain this exact same strategy moving forward throughout the upcoming season.”

In compound women, USA’s Alexis Ruiz recorded the first World Cup pole position of her career.

Ruiz came fourth at the 2026 Easton Foundations Gator Cup, where she admitted she was “disappointed”, but bounced back in Shanghai with 707. She tied reigning World Archery Champion Andrea Becerra but edged the Mexican to top spot with five more Xs.

“This morning it just felt good [in official practice],” said Ruiz, who could hardly believe she had secured top seed at the end. “I even made a comment to my mum that today just kind of feels easy and that’s not something that comes around very often.”

Competition continues in Shanghai on Wednesday with compound team eliminations in the morning and recurve qualification in the afternoon.