PAGNI makes Archery World Cup history!

  "I’m absolutely thrilled," said PAGNI after his victory. "It was a very intense match and it is a big thrill to make history as I have, but during it, I was only thinking about shooting, not about records."

After losing to PAGNI in last year’s final, GELLENTHIEN was keen to take revenge, so losing the final was a bitter disappointment. He said: "That was a shocker; I think the wind affected both shooters and he handled it better than I did. Of course I am very disappointed."

A Korean archer has won the recurve women’s World Cup Final gold medal for the second year running. YUN Ok Hee followed in the footsteps of KWAK Ye Ji 12 months ago by defeating Ukraine’s Victoriya KOVAL in a tense final. Indeed, it was tense for YUN throughout the day, having needed a 1-arrow shoot-off to beat fellow Korean KI Bo Bae in the semifinals.

"This is a great honour for me," YUN said afterwards. "I am thrilled to win the gold medal and thrilled that a Korean archer has won the title again."    Recurve Women   Semifinal - Justyna MOSPINEK (POL) v Victoriya KOVAL (UKR) These two have already shot three times against each other in the World Cup. KOVAL won the last two encounters 4-0 (set system) and 111-110. MOSPINEK won their match in 2007, 111-103.   The first set turned to the advantage of KOVAL who scored a triple 9 against an 8-8-9 for MOSPINEK. The Ukrainian took the lead 2-0.   Both young ladies shot a 7 to open the second set but the Ukrainian followed with two 10s versus 8-10 for the Pole and she doubled her advantage in this match: 4-0.   The last set did not allow MOSPINEK to recover. She scored 27 points and with a 28 KOVAL clinched a comfortable victory 6-0. She earned the right to shoot for gold later on, while MOSPINEK would have fight for bronze against a Korean as the second semifinal was to be shot between two KI and YUN.   Semifinal - KI Bo Bae (KOR) v YUN Ok-Hee (KOR) With a total of four, YUN is the woman with the most individual wins in World Cup stages! KI is the new Korean wonder and they have already met twice in the World Cup this season. KI won both encounters 7-3 and 6-2.   A wonderful start in this 100% Korean duel with both athletes opening with two 10s and a 9 each. Tied score at 1-1!   YUN maintained the same pace in the second set (10-X10-9) whereas KI had a lower 9-9-8 series, allowing two set points and a lead of 3-1 to her teammate.   However, KI proved she was still to be counted on, achieving a perfect third set (X10-10-10) to take the two point sets and tie the match at 3-3.   In the fourth set, YUN could not do better than a triple 9. With two 9s and a 10, KI took the lead this time, 5-3.   The last set turned to the advantage of YUN who scored 10-10-9 against 9-8-9 for KI. The result of it was that YUN took the two set points and came back at 5-5 for a tie-breaker to decide the winner.   Shooting first, KI released a bad 8, leaving the door open to her teammate. YUN did not hesitate and clinched a first World Cup victory over her fellow countrywoman with a perfect 10! She would be the one shooting for gold against the Ukrainian KOVAL.   Bronze Medal - KI Bo Bae (KOR) v Justyna MOSPINEK (POL) A smooth start in the recurve women's bronze medal match between KI and MOSPINEK. With 10-7-9 the Pole took a 2-0 lead over KI who opened with 8-8-9.   However, in the second set the Korean benefited from a low 6 shot by her contender to come back and tie the match at 2-2.   The third set was also to the benefit of KI with 27 points. MOSPINEK scored the same 10-10-6 series as previously and let the two sets points go to the Korean. However, at that time MOSPINEK had secured the Longines Prize for Precision which is awarded to the recurve archer who has shot the highest number of 10s during the whole World Cup season.   KI clinched the bronze medal, 6-2, shooting X10-10-9 in the fourth end.   Gold Medal - YUN Ok-Hee (KOR) v Victoriya KOVAL (UKR) YUN and KOVAL faced each other in the gold final of the World Cup Stage 3 in 2008 in Antalya. At that time the Korean took the advantage over the Ukrainian 108-106 in a 12-arrow match.   YUN had the best start in this gold medal match with three 9s in the first end against two 9s and an 8 for KOVAL. YUN took the lead 2-0.   In the second set, KOVAL took advantage of an 8 by YUN on her third arrow to rake in the two set points and tie the match at 2-2.   The Korean contender recovered a good momentum in the next end of three arrows with two 9s and a 10. With 28 points, she scored better than her opponent from Ukraine who shot 25 (9-8-8) and added two set points to take the lead back at 4-2.   After the two archers shot a 9 and a 10 before their last arrow in the fourth set, KOVAL scored a 9. With a 10, YUN would clinch victory, but she got a 9 as well and tied the set. One point each and 5-3 for the Korean. An additional end was needed!   In the very last set of the day, YUN started strongly with two 10s. With three 9s on KOVAL's side, she needed an 8 two win, but a 7 would tie the match and go to a tie-breaker... YUN just got the 8 she needed to win her first World Cup Final victory 7-3 after three attempts!   Compound Men   Semifinal - Sergio PAGNI (ITA) v Rodger WILLET Jr. (USA) Both archers survived a shoot-off in the quarterfinals this morning. PAGNI was the World Cup Final defender.   The Italian started first and opened the match with a 10 followed by an X10 and a 9 for a 29 total in the first set. WILLET Jr. tied his opponent's performance with 9-10-10. The two got one set point each for this end.   The American followed with a good group, but they were all 9s. With a perfect score of 30 (X10-10-10) in the second set, his contender from Italy took the lead by 3-1.   Another tight third set and high level performance with both archers shooting 10 twice and one 9 to gain another set point each. PAGNI was still in the lead by 4-2.   The fourth set allowed WILLET Jr. to recover two points and tie the match at 4-4 thanks to shooting a perfect 10-10-10 end. The next set would decide on the winner, unless they were tied...   The two started the last end with a 10, but PAGNI followed with another X10 while his American opponent only scored an 8. This was to be the decider in this match and the Italian clinched the match 6-4 taking the two set points with 29 versus 28 points. He will shoot for gold later on!   Semifinal - Braden GELLENTHIEN (USA) v Shaun TEASDALE (NZL) TEASDALE had to go through a shoot-off this morning to beat JIMENEZ, while GELLENTHIEN beat the wild card WHITE.   The No. 1 in the World Cup GELLENTHIEN had the best start in this second semifinal with 9-X10-X10 against 9-9-8 for his opponent from New Zealand. After the first set, the American led 2-0.   A tight second set between the two young archers, but this end turned to the advantage of TEASDALE who score 29 points (10-10-9), while GELLENTHIEN shot 28 (10-9-9). The two archers were tied at this point of the match, two set points each.   The two competitors remained tied after the third set after they both shot 29 points and added one set point each to their total. Score: 3-3!   In the fourth set, GELLENTHIEN took the lead for the second time of the match 5-3 shooting two 10s and a 9, one point higher than his opponent with two 9s and an X10.   Same scores again in the last set (29-28) to give victory to the American by 7-3. He will face the Italian PAGNI in the gold final, a rematch of last year's World Cup gold final that the American lost...   Bronze Medal - Shaun TEASDALE (NZL) v Rodger WILLET Jr. (USA) The compound men's bronze medal match was the second encounter between TEASDALE and WILLET Jr. in the World Cup this year after Antalya where the American won 5-3.   In the first set TEASDALE scored three 9s and WILLET Jr. two 9s and a 10. The two set points thus came into the American's hands who led 2-0 but the youngster from New Zealand showed he was going to fight up to the end, and with 9-10-X10 against 9-10-9 for his opponent, he tied the match at 2-2.   Thanks to a perfect third set WILLET Jr. took back the lead at 4-2 and he continued with another perfect end of three arrows (10-10-X10) to suffocate his opponent and clinch bronze 6-2.   Gold Medal - Braden GELLENTHIEN (USA) v Sergio PAGNI (ITA) This year's gold medal match was a replay of 2009 with an encounter between GELLENTHIEN and PAGNI. In Copenhagen last year the Italian came out the winner 115-114 in a match shot according to the former 12-arrow system. So far, no archer had ever successfully defended his World Cup Final title... Will PAGNI be the first one?   The two archers tied at 1-1 in the first set both with two 9s and a 10. And after two sets, they were still tied at 2-2 after shooting 29 points each (10-10-9) in the second end!   The third set decided who would take the lead for the first time in the match. GELLENTHIEN scored 29 points, while his opponent only managed 27, so the American was ahead at that time 4-2.   The fourth set could be the last one- and a first victory in three participations in a World Cup Final gold match for GELLENTHIEN —if he took the two set points at stake. However, with a perfect triple 10, PAGNI applied lots of pressure on him and ensured an additional set. After two 10s, the young but experienced American released an 8... 8! This gave two set points to the defending champion and tied the score.   What a thriller! In the fifth set, both started with 10 points. GELLENTHIEN's second arrow was a 9 and PAGNI took the lead with another 10. As the last arrow for the American scored 10, PAGNI needed a 9 to tie or a 10 to win. The Italian champion sustained pressure perfectly and released a smooth 10 to become the first archer to successfully defend his World Cup title. Two World Cup gold medals in a row for PAGNI!   After this first day of competition in Edinburgh, let's wait for other great matches on Sunday. They will be starting with the compound women's and recurve men's quarterfinals as well as a gold medal match in compound mixed team in the morning, followed by all semifinals and finals in the afternoon.   Ludivine MAITRE WICKI / Didier MIEVILLE / Peter JONES World Archery Communication / Archery GB