Archery World Cup 2023: Mete Gazoz & Alejandra Valencia win top spots in qualifications

For the first time since 2019, the Chinese team competed on the international circuit, winning two of the three recurve team top places at the first stage of the Archery World Cup 2023.

Mete Gazoz at the Tokyo Olympics 2020 (Image Credits - World Archery)
By Abhiruchi Rout | Apr 20, 2023 | 3 Min Read follow icon Follow Us

The Archery World Cup 2023 began in Antalya, Turkey, and on the second day of competition, Olympic champion Mete Gazoz took the top seed in the men’s recurve event. He beat Brady Ellison, who held the world record, by one point during the 72-arrow round. On the other hand, Alejandra Valencia claimed the women’s recurve qualifications by four points over Elia Canales.

For the third time in his career, Mete Gazoz qualified with the top position at a stage of the world circuit after starting his afternoon with a flawless 60 and taking the lead from there. His final score was 688. Gazoz’s firsthand knowledge of the breezy circumstances at the permanent range in Antalya where he trains proved useful as he led Ulas Tumer and Muhammed Yildirmis to the top. In regards to upcoming team matches, Gazoz stated in an interview with World Archery, “I know I can shoot well, and I hope I’m going for gold.” 

Read More-‘I hope I will win the gold’, says Olympic champion Mete Gazoz

What happened in the men’s recurve qualifications?

The participants put on a fierce struggle, with five-time Archery World Cup Final Champion Brady Ellison finishing narrowly ahead of Gazoz after battling back from a sluggish start. The two easily defeated Li Zhongyuan and Atanu Das of India, who took third and fourth place, in the race. Marcus D’Almeida, who leads the Sanlida World Archery Rankings, was seeded 11th. However, the world’s fifth-ranked player Florian Unruh and sixth-ranked player Nicholas D’Amour were let down because they could only manage positions 34th and 38th, respectively.

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What happened in the women’s recurve qualifications?

At the top of the women’s qualifications, Alejandra Valencia had a more comfortable lead after gaining a four-point advantage over Canales at the very last end. At the end of the afternoon, Zhang Mengyao of China was in third place, still two points behind, at the Archery World Cup 2023 in Antalya. Bryony Pitman of Great Britain, who won gold in the recurve women’s event here in Antalya in 2022, will be hoping that her fourth-place qualification this time around will be the right foundation to defend her title. World number one Katharina Bauer, who won bronze last year, was seeded 21st, while An Qixuan, Tomomi Sugimoto, and Satsuki Noda all ended on 662 to round out the top eight alongside Charline Schwarz.

China taking part for the first time since 2019

For the first time since 2019, the Chinese team competed on the international circuit, winning two of the three recurve team top places at the first stage of the Archery World Cup 2023. An Qixuan, Muyan Qiu, and Zhang Mengyao won the recurve women’s team competition, and Mexico placed second behind Japan and Germany, the world champions, owing to top individual qualifier Valencia. The USA’s Ellison and Casey Kaufhold were second in the recurve mixed team standings, two points behind Zhang and Li Zhongyuan, and in front of Spain and Gazoz’s Turkey. Behind the hosts Turkey, the Chinese men’s recurve team came in second. Italy, the second-ranked team in the world, finished third, ahead of India.

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