Buden’s wind strategy pays off with pole position after low-scoring qualification

Croatian compound man Domagoj Buden led qualification at the fourth stage of the 2019 Hyundai Archery World Cup, scoring 691 points for the 72-arrow 50-metre ranking round in Berlin.

“I said before we started, 690 today I think will be fine, I‘ll be happy with it. And that’s what turned out to be the top score and I’m quite happy with it,” he said.

The conditions during the entire qualification day were difficult.

A strong wind blew from right to left in the late morning, switched left to right in the afternoon and was generally inconsistent, blustery and challenging.

Buden led the field with an impressive – considering the weather – 348-point first half. He held on over the back 36 arrows, scoring 343, to beat world number one Mike Schloesser to the top seed by a point.

The 21-year-old outlined his strategy in the wind.

“I draw back and kinda like take a deep breath in so I can hold for a while. And then when the wind calms down I can make a normal shot,” said Domagoj.

“A lot of people pull back and put full strength into the shot right away and when the wind calms down they don’t have the strength to execute. With me, I was just resting until the wind would calm down and then I would execute a normal shot.”

Buden and Schloesser were the only compound archers to score at least 690 points.

It is the first time in about three years that Mike has shot less than 700 for a qualification round.

Marcus Laube, Matt Sullivan, Jozef Bosansky, Marcel Trachsel, Suleyman Araz and Pierre-Julien Deloche completed the top eight.

Germany‘s Laube, Trachsel and Lars Klingner seeded first as a compound men’s team with a combined 2042 points. Turkey ranked second and the USA third.

The fourth stage of the 2019 Hyundai Archery World Cup takes place on 1-7 July in Berlin, Germany.