Antalya to host second World Cup stage from 10-16 June Lausanne - Wednesday, June 05, 2013 Koreans widely dominated the World Cup season premiere that took place in Shanghai, after winning three of the four individual competitions. The major surprise of the event was SEOK Ji Hyun, who brought a revolution to the women’s compound division, outdistancing favourites like JONES, LOGINOVA and BERGER. A faithful World Cup partner since the inception in 2006, the Turkish Riviera capital will host the finals on 15-16 June on its famous Konyaalti Beach. To reach the finals, athletes will battle it out at the Antalya Centennial Archery Field with qualifications and eliminations from 10 to 14 June. Who are the athletes and teams poised to make their mark in Antalya? Read on for more on the heavy hitters who will be present on the Mediterranean Sea for this second stage of the World Cup. Recurve Men Korea distinguished itself again in Shanghai, first by winning the team competition, and then with OH Jin Hyek and JIN Jae Wang on the first two steps of the individual podium, joined by Shungo TABATA (JPN), surprising winner versus his teammate and Olympic silver medallist Takaharu FURUKAWA in the elimination rounds. The Land of the Morning Calm’s team will again all be united with LEE Seungyun and IM Dong Hyun, who finished 5th and 8th respectively in China. If the great champions Brady ELLISON (USA), and Michele FRANGILLI (ITA) went out prematurely at the Shanghai first stage - ELLISON was eliminated by Taylor WORTH (AUS) in the 1/16 round and FRANGILLI by Johan WEISS (DEN) in the 1/48 round - they will certainly be motivated to outperform themselves next week. Frenchman Gaël PREVOST (1/8 round) and Dutchman Rick VAN DER VEN (6th) had the occasion to participate in the Europe-Asia challenge last week in Istanbul, solid preparation for the showdown in Antalya next week. Malaysian Khairul Anuar MOHAMAD (4th) and the always competitive Mexican, Ukrainian and Indian teams should also be watched closely. Recurve Women The return of Korean Olympic medallist YUN Ok-Hee to the international stage couldn’t have had a better ending than in Shanghai, where she beat Indian Deepika KUMARI in the final. KUMARI left with two silver medals, including the one she earned in the mixed team final. The double Olympic Champion and World N°1 KI Bo Bae (KOR) was eliminated in the 1/8 round by Chinese Taipei’s athlete WU Chia-Hung (7th). Chinese Taipei had a solid week thanks to TAN Ya-Ting’s 4th place finish, but mostly due to their brilliant team upset versus Ukraine, led by 5th seed Anastasia PAVLOVA. Chinese standouts FANG Yuting and XU Jing, team Olympic silver medallists who were eliminated in the 1/8 round in Shanghai, will have a new chance to demonstrate their talent. In the absence of Mariana AVITIA (1/16 round in Shanghai), Mexico will have to make due without its Olympic bronze medallist, replaced by Gina GONZALEZ. Nonetheless, the team can count on young Mariana GARCIA and above all on World N°2 and Olympic silver medallist Aida ROMAN, who will take her best shot at improving on Shanghai’s 8th place finish. A first remarkable appearance from the Russian team lead by talented Natalia ERDYNIEVA is still expected. ERDYNIEVA also attended last week’s Europe-Asia challenge in Istanbul. Compound Men American favourites made their presence known on the Huangpu River shores. Braden GELLENTHIEN won the gold medal, Reo WILDE ended in 3rd place and Dave COUSINS finished ranked 4th. Martin DAMSBO (DEN) has been an awesome finalist for GELLENTHIEN. DAMSBO left several tough opponents and old acquaintances behind along the way, including WILDE, Sergio PAGNI (ITA), and Peter ELZINGA (NED). The competition is now arriving in Europe where Frenchmen Pierre-Julien DELOCHE and Dominique GENET, British Adam RAVENSCROFT, or German Marcus LAUBE will try to improve their rankings at the showdown in Turkey. In the team event, American archers also confirmed their supremacy, leaving the silver medal to PAGNI and the Italian team after a final by far dominated by GELLENTHIEN’s crew. Korea overcame Australia in the bronze medal match. Compound Women Unexpected but nonetheless amazing: the Korean women’s compound team managed to impose their own rules in this division. Famous for their power in the recurve division, they have positioned themselves for playing leading roles this season in a division where they have not traditionally been a reigning power. SEOK Ji Hyun was the big winner in the Saturday finals, thanks to her individual and team victories (photo). In the individual final, she beat one of the greatest competition favourites: Erika JONES (USA). A bit earlier, Albina LOGINOVA (RUS) edge out another American: Carli COCHRAN. LOGINOVA also confirms as a favourite for the season. Look for high quality performances from Katia D’AGOSTINO, 7th individually and 4th with the Italian team beat by India, and from quarter-finalists Kristina BERGER (GER) and Linda OCHOA (MEX). Sophie DODEMONT, who flew over French national qualifications, will also be ready to bring her own revolution. Find the complete results of the Shanghai first stage, stay tuned on our webpage for all the news, information, photos and results, and follow our coverage on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. World Archery Communication
Posted on: Mon, 10 Jun 2013 00:20:57 +0000