April 24, 2024

Path to the podium now known for both compound and recurve after two days of competition in China

SHANGHAI, China – Day two of the Hyundai Archery World Cup Stage 1 was the day recurve archers stepped into the spotlight inside the Yuanshen Stadium, including world number one Casey Kaufhold.

Kaufhold shot a 675, which was good enough for fifth after qualification and just three points behind second. The 20-year-old will start eliminations on Friday against teammate and close friend Jennifer Mucino-Fernandez. Meanwhile, Catalina GNoriega tackles Elia Canales (ESP), the 16th seed, in the 1/32nd round.

Over on the men’s side, world number two Brady Ellison fired 680 in qualification and will begin the elimination rounds against Roy Dror (ISR). Gabe Anderson faces second seed Matias Grande (MEX) on Friday, while Jack Williams meets Pravin Ramesh Jadhav (IND) and Jackson Mirich takes on Jeff Henckels (LUX).

Recurve team competition starts on Thursday, and both men and women begin against Brazil. The men’s team are ninth seeds and consists of Ellison, Williams and Mirich. The women are seeded 10 and include Kaufhold, GNoriega and Mucino-Fernandez.

Elimination matches in the recurve mixed team take place on Friday. Ellison and Kaufhold, the sixth seeds, have a bye to the 1/8th round where they await the winners of Spain versus Israel.

Collecting ranking points at the major international events is crucial, as two team quota slots per gender for the 2024 Olympic Games will be awarded based upon world ranking. The USA women have filled their quota slots.

Day two in Shanghai also included the compound team elimination matches. The men’s trio of Kris Schaff, Nick Kappers and Sawyer Sullivan defeated Italy 239-235 in their opening match before falling 235-233 to the Netherlands in the quarterfinals. The women’s team of Olivia Dean, Carson Krahe and Alexis Ruiz had a bye to the quarterfinals before narrowly going out to Estonia in a shootoff.

Elimination matches begin in the compound division on Thursday. Angus Moss faces Michea Godano (ITA) in the 1/32 round. Sullivan starts against Yagiz Sezgin (TUR), Kappers faces Ajay Scott (GBR) and Schaff meets Stef Willems (NED).

In the women's competition, Cassidy Cox and Carson Krahe begin at the 1/32 stage against Kazakhstan opposition. Cox meets Aizhan Seidakhmetova and Krahe faces Elmira Raissova. Ruiz and Dean have byes to the 1/16 round. Ruiz will face either Adel Zhexenbinova (KAZ) or Georgina Graham (AUS), with Dean awaiting the winner of Avneet Kaur (IND) against Andrea Robles (PHI).

This is the first of three World Cup stages, reduced from the usual four due to this being an Olympic year. The remaining World Cup schedule looks like this: