Former recurve world champion CHOI wins Shanghai compound gold

“I couldn’t see through the peepsight,” said Sara LOPEZ. The peepsight is a small plastic circle knotted into a compound bow’s string as an alignment tool with the primary scope on the front of the bow. If that rear sight is blocked, it’s impossible to aim at the target.

Three misses later, the match was sealed.

CHOI Bomin, who won recurve World Cup Final silver at Dubai and gold in the team event at the Leipzig world championships in 2007, climbed her first individual World Cup podium as a compound archer.

She was not the favourite against the 19-year-old Colombian, world record holder over the 15-arrow match, who shot a clean 150 in her semifinal match on Thursday.

LOPEZ took defeat philosophically: “It was just not meant to happen today, something better will come my way.”

Winner CHOI was upset, however: “You train so hard for a competition, and then something happens to your opponent in the final. I wanted to win because I am a good archer, not because she had problems with her equipment.”

Equipment failure or not, CHOI still had to shoot arrows into the middle of the target to win.

Both archers won precious points towards World Cup Final qualification, as did LOPEZ’s teammate Alejandra USQUIANO. The Paris 2013 World Cup Final Champion, competing in China for the first time, beat rookie Iranian competitor Afsaneh SHAFIEIALAVIJEH to bronze.

“I get nervous every time I compete,” confessed USQUIANO. “If I didn’t feel the emotion, I wouldn’t have any reason to keep shooting, keep fighting to put the arrows in the middle.”

See results from the finals at the first 2014 Archery World Cup stage in Shanghai.