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Korea and Türkiye lead qualification at 14th Conquest Cup

5 June 2026

Istanbul, Türkiye

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Korean teenagers and Türkiye’s home favourites set the pace across all four disciplines during qualification at the 14th Conquest Cup in Istanbul.

The compound men’s qualification produced a Turkish one-two, with world number four Emircan Haney – the top-ranked archer in the field – and Batuhan Akcaoglu both shooting 714. Haney took the top seed on X-count, 35-31 – with Xs marking arrows closest to the centre of the target – after the pair finished level on score.

India also made a strong collective statement in the draw, placing five archers inside the top 10: Prathamesh Bhalchandra Fuge (third with 709), Priyansh (fifth with 706), Venkatadri Kunderu (sixth with 705), Abhishek Verma (seventh with 704) and Jignas Chittibomma (10th with 701).

In the compound women’s event, Türkiye entered 36 archers in a field of 45 and placed eight of the top 10 seeds, including the first five. Yesim Bostan leads with 701, followed by Defne Cakmak (696), Hazal Burun (694), Begum Yuva (693) and Deniz İnci Seyhan (691).

Two-time defending champion Amanda Mlinaric of Croatia – the world number nine and bidding for a third straight Conquest Cup title – sits sixth with 688 and will need to navigate a formidable home contingent to reach the final.

Choi Chuljun at Istanbul 2026 Conquest Cup.

In recurve men, Mete Gazoz, the world number five and highest-ranked archer in the draw, qualified second with 678 as he continues his pursuit of a first Conquest Cup title.

The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Champion was edged to the top seed by 19-year-old Choi Chuljun of Korea, who posted 680 – a remarkable result for an archer ranked 775th in the world and silver medallist in recurve under-18 men at the 2023 World Archery Youth Championships in Limerick.

Viacheslav Osipov sits third with 676, while Turkish archer Abdullah Yildirmis is fourth with 675. Italian pair Matteo Borsani and two-time Olympic silver medallist Mauro Nespoli are tied on 673 in fifth and sixth.

Korea’s Yu Seulha topped the recurve women’s field with 671, edging Roberta Di Francesco of Italy – the world number 18 and highest-ranked woman in the draw – on X-count, 13-10, after the pair finished level.

The 18-year-old Yu, who won team gold in recurve under-18 women in Limerick, heads into the eliminations as the archer to beat. Defending champion Elif Gokkir and fellow Turkish archer Dunya Yenihayat sit third and fourth with 664 and 663, respectively.

Competition continues on Friday with team eliminations and finals.