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Flash Quotes - Women's Ranking Round
Beijing - 9 August 2008
Comments from the women's ranking round at the Olympic Green Archery Field on Saturday.
Natalia VALEEVA (ITA)
On how the 2007 world champion felt about her 30th place in the ranking round:
"It was not one of my best. The first three ends were really bad. I tried to find my usual concentration and recover all that I lost. It wasn't very easy."
On her team's unexpected low ranking of ninth place:
"I didn't know that we were shooting so badly. It's not my teammates' fault. It was their first Olympics. The team has nothing to lose in tomorrow's competition. We have another chance tomorrow and we will try to recover."
On the heat:
"No, the heat was not the problem, it was the same for all the shooters. The main problem was our internal feelings."
SHIH Ya Ping (TPE) - coach of YUAN Shu Chi (TPE)
On YUAN Shu Chi's goals in Beijing:
"She wanted to be in the top three and she set a goal for herself to win the gold or the Silver in the individual competition."
On why it was difficult for YUAN Shu Chi, who finished sixth, to finish in the top three:
"The Koreans' performance is very stable and so it was hard for YUAN Shu Chi to break into the top three."
On Chinese Taipei's team ranking:
"We expected to be in fifth place in the team round, but we finished in eighth so we will have to try hard in the team matches."
Khatuna NARIMANIDZE (GEO)
On her fourth place finish in the ranking round:
"I appreciate the support from the manufacturer Hoyt. They gave me a new bow. I give credit to the bow, not myself."
On the two main things she was thinking about when she was competing:
"The first one is when I see the target and think about shooting and nothing else. The second one is when I use the towel to dry my neck to get rid of the sweat."
ONS yd/mp/lj/jf/skh/ir/rw
Alison WILLIAMSON (GBR)
On the GBR team finishing second in the Ranking Round:
"We've shot quite well all year. We're in the mix as far as getting on the podium so looking at the draw we are there and if we achieve that (win a medal) it's brilliant."
On placing seventh after the Ranking Round:
"I always try my best. I just kept my same game plan. Once the arrow is in the target that's it, you just concentrate on the next arrow."
On her method of shooting:
"I try to build up a rhythm and I am fast and I don't tend to dawdle. I'm generally like that in life. You can't go for a walk with me it has to be a sprint but when I'm focused and have rhythm there is no need to wait."
Naomi FOLKARD (GBR)
On whether she was surprised with her eighth place:
"My goal was to qualify with a little bit higher ranking. I was disappointed with my last end, I dropped a few places. My last three ends were bad. Every single arrow was hard work."
On her standing to the left during the Ranking Round:
"I do prefer to stand to the left. I think it's just more of a psychological thing."
On whether a team having a bye in the first Team Elimination match can make a difference:
"It can because if the person you are going to shoot against has already shot in the stadium they already know what it is like. We shot in there the other day. I think we will be fine."
Charlotte BURGESS (GBR)
On her performance:
"It was a bit up and down. I was struggling a bit this afternoon with the wind change. It was just swirling around and changing. It was quite rough."
On GBR finishing second in the team rankings:
"In the team round we always shoot well. All looks good."
ONS mo/bk/skh/jg/rw
Nami HAYAKAWA (JPN)
On her shooting today:
"I didn't necessarily have a great performance, but I enjoyed shooting."
On her biggest competition:
"Every archer is my rival. Every archer is strong, but for me the Koreans are strongest."
On how she is going to prepare for the elimination rounds:
"I'm going to the shooting range and I am physically training my body. I do push-ups every day. More than 20 times a day."
Berengere SCHUH (FRA)
On her performance today:
"I feel satisfied, but I shot one bad end in each half. I was bothered by the wind, but on the other hand I made some very good ends which (allowed) me to keep the same ranking during the ranking round. I've been working for four years for (these) Olympics, and I am a bit sad because we haven't had much practice shooting in the wind this year."
ONS er/mb/jg/mc/rw
UM Sung-Ho (KOR) - Korean team archery official
On how he feels about the women's Archery ranking round:
"We're very pleased with our performance today. We were very relaxed at practice, and we transformed it into an Olympic team record this morning. PARK Sung-Hyun (KOR) had some difficulties at the beginning, but she pulled through to tie the individual Olympic record. In second place was JOO Hyun-Jung (KOR); she took part in her first Olympic competition and she enjoyed it. YUN Ok-Hee (KOR) was third, but she should not be concerned about it."
On how the ranking round will differ from those to come:
"The matches in the stadium will be another story, simply because the stadium is closed. The environment will be impressive and there should be less wind."
On his hopes for the men's competition:
"We hope to have a good result for the men's competition for this afternoon. Especially, what is really important for us at these Olympics is to win for the first time the individual Gold medal."
Jennifer NICHOLS (USA)
On shooting in the windy conditions:
"It was a little rough today. The wind was shifty and (it was) hard to read which way it was blowing."
On her surprise at the weather:
"The heat and humidity were definitely higher than usual. We have been here for 12 days to try to get used to the weather, but this is by far the hottest day that we've been here."
ONS er/mb/jg/mc
MOON Hyung-Chul (KOR) - Korean women's coach
On the Korean women's team breaking the 216 arrow Olympic record with a combined score of 2,004 points in the ranking round:
"We broke the Olympic record many times in practice. Even though we broke the Olympic record today, the conditions were just so-so and because of this, we are not satisfied with the score."
On where he expects the Korean women to finish in the team elimination matches on Sunday:
"We expect to get a Gold medal tomorrow."
JOO Hyun-Jung (KOR)
On how she felt about the wind and her third place ranking:
"I was a little bit confused (by the wind). But I felt I was in good condition today, although I was a little nervous."
ONS py/jf/skh/ml/spd
Natalia VALEEVA (ITA)
On how the 2007 world champion felt about her 30th place in the ranking round:
"It was not one of my best. The first three ends were really bad. I tried to find my usual concentration and recover all that I lost. It wasn't very easy."
On her team's unexpected low ranking of ninth place:
"I didn't know that we were shooting so badly. It's not my teammates' fault. It was their first Olympics. The team has nothing to lose in tomorrow's competition. We have another chance tomorrow and we will try to recover."
On the heat:
"No, the heat was not the problem, it was the same for all the shooters. The main problem was our internal feelings."
SHIH Ya Ping (TPE) - coach of YUAN Shu Chi (TPE)
On YUAN Shu Chi's goals in Beijing:
"She wanted to be in the top three and she set a goal for herself to win the gold or the Silver in the individual competition."
On why it was difficult for YUAN Shu Chi, who finished sixth, to finish in the top three:
"The Koreans' performance is very stable and so it was hard for YUAN Shu Chi to break into the top three."
On Chinese Taipei's team ranking:
"We expected to be in fifth place in the team round, but we finished in eighth so we will have to try hard in the team matches."
Khatuna NARIMANIDZE (GEO)
On her fourth place finish in the ranking round:
"I appreciate the support from the manufacturer Hoyt. They gave me a new bow. I give credit to the bow, not myself."
On the two main things she was thinking about when she was competing:
"The first one is when I see the target and think about shooting and nothing else. The second one is when I use the towel to dry my neck to get rid of the sweat."
ONS yd/mp/lj/jf/skh/ir/rw
Alison WILLIAMSON (GBR)
On the GBR team finishing second in the Ranking Round:
"We've shot quite well all year. We're in the mix as far as getting on the podium so looking at the draw we are there and if we achieve that (win a medal) it's brilliant."
On placing seventh after the Ranking Round:
"I always try my best. I just kept my same game plan. Once the arrow is in the target that's it, you just concentrate on the next arrow."
On her method of shooting:
"I try to build up a rhythm and I am fast and I don't tend to dawdle. I'm generally like that in life. You can't go for a walk with me it has to be a sprint but when I'm focused and have rhythm there is no need to wait."
Naomi FOLKARD (GBR)
On whether she was surprised with her eighth place:
"My goal was to qualify with a little bit higher ranking. I was disappointed with my last end, I dropped a few places. My last three ends were bad. Every single arrow was hard work."
On her standing to the left during the Ranking Round:
"I do prefer to stand to the left. I think it's just more of a psychological thing."
On whether a team having a bye in the first Team Elimination match can make a difference:
"It can because if the person you are going to shoot against has already shot in the stadium they already know what it is like. We shot in there the other day. I think we will be fine."
Charlotte BURGESS (GBR)
On her performance:
"It was a bit up and down. I was struggling a bit this afternoon with the wind change. It was just swirling around and changing. It was quite rough."
On GBR finishing second in the team rankings:
"In the team round we always shoot well. All looks good."
ONS mo/bk/skh/jg/rw
Nami HAYAKAWA (JPN)
On her shooting today:
"I didn't necessarily have a great performance, but I enjoyed shooting."
On her biggest competition:
"Every archer is my rival. Every archer is strong, but for me the Koreans are strongest."
On how she is going to prepare for the elimination rounds:
"I'm going to the shooting range and I am physically training my body. I do push-ups every day. More than 20 times a day."
Berengere SCHUH (FRA)
On her performance today:
"I feel satisfied, but I shot one bad end in each half. I was bothered by the wind, but on the other hand I made some very good ends which (allowed) me to keep the same ranking during the ranking round. I've been working for four years for (these) Olympics, and I am a bit sad because we haven't had much practice shooting in the wind this year."
ONS er/mb/jg/mc/rw
UM Sung-Ho (KOR) - Korean team archery official
On how he feels about the women's Archery ranking round:
"We're very pleased with our performance today. We were very relaxed at practice, and we transformed it into an Olympic team record this morning. PARK Sung-Hyun (KOR) had some difficulties at the beginning, but she pulled through to tie the individual Olympic record. In second place was JOO Hyun-Jung (KOR); she took part in her first Olympic competition and she enjoyed it. YUN Ok-Hee (KOR) was third, but she should not be concerned about it."
On how the ranking round will differ from those to come:
"The matches in the stadium will be another story, simply because the stadium is closed. The environment will be impressive and there should be less wind."
On his hopes for the men's competition:
"We hope to have a good result for the men's competition for this afternoon. Especially, what is really important for us at these Olympics is to win for the first time the individual Gold medal."
Jennifer NICHOLS (USA)
On shooting in the windy conditions:
"It was a little rough today. The wind was shifty and (it was) hard to read which way it was blowing."
On her surprise at the weather:
"The heat and humidity were definitely higher than usual. We have been here for 12 days to try to get used to the weather, but this is by far the hottest day that we've been here."
ONS er/mb/jg/mc
MOON Hyung-Chul (KOR) - Korean women's coach
On the Korean women's team breaking the 216 arrow Olympic record with a combined score of 2,004 points in the ranking round:
"We broke the Olympic record many times in practice. Even though we broke the Olympic record today, the conditions were just so-so and because of this, we are not satisfied with the score."
On where he expects the Korean women to finish in the team elimination matches on Sunday:
"We expect to get a Gold medal tomorrow."
JOO Hyun-Jung (KOR)
On how she felt about the wind and her third place ranking:
"I was a little bit confused (by the wind). But I felt I was in good condition today, although I was a little nervous."
ONS py/jf/skh/ml/spd
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