Ankara preview finals: Recurve Saturday

Our picks for the headline matches on recurve Saturday at the 12th World Archery Indoor Championships in Ankara, Turkey.

Recurve women’s individual gold final (afternoon session): Lisa Unruh  / Natalia Lesniak 

Seeded first overall in Ankara, Unruh’s only other podium at a world championships was at the last world indoors in Turkey, back in 2007. She took silver with the German team then, in Izmir.

A long-time international, she’ll take on Natalia Lesniak, who’s also climbed the team podium at a world indoors. Two years ago, in Nimes, Poland had bronze.

Her resilience in these championships has been impressive. Lesniak won two shoot-offs during the elimination phases, one in her first match and one in her upset of the second seed, Tomomi Sugimoto.

The favourite remains the favourite, though.

Advantage: Unruh

Recurve women’s individual bronze final (afternoon session): Veronika Marchenko  / Claudia Mandia 

Two-time team champ with Ukraine, Veronika was the recurve woman that won her nation a quota place to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Her team won’t defend its title in Ankara, but she still has a chance to take home a medal.

Claudia’s indoor season has been quietly impressive.

Although she didn’t make it to the final four at the Archery World Cup stage in Nimes, she did tie the world record during qualification at that tournament. That is, before it was broken by the archer a couple of targets down the line.

Mandia beat German archer Karina Winter in straight sets in a statement win in the quarters, before losing a tight one to Lesniak in the semis, 4-6.

Advantage: Veronika

Recurve men’s individual gold final (afternoon session): Heorhiy Ivanytskyy  / Sergii Makarevych 

Just 23 years old, Heorhiy is the reigning European indoor archery champ. He’s got a chance to unite that title with the world crown if he holds off challenger and Ukrainian teammate Sergii in the recurve men’s final.

Makarevych, by the way, upset Brady Ellison in the semifinals, 6-4, and was calm and collected on the line, despite his less than year-mature international experience.

This one could go either way.

Advantage: Push

Recurve men’s individual bronze final (afternoon session): Brady Ellison  / Massimiliano Mandia 

True to his current form in what Brady referred to as his “best indoor season ever”, the States archer posted the highest score in qualification, at 595, to take pole.

He’s never won a world championships, though can add to his collection of world podium finishes with a third consecutive world indoor bronze if he beats Mandia in the Ankara arena.

Massimiliano, the 15th seed in the competition, took individual silver at the last European indoor championships – and has won world medals at university and junior competitions, but never at the senior level.

Advantage: Brady

Recurve women’s team gold final (afternoon session): Poland  / Japan 

Poland upset the brackets by defeating Germany in the quarterfinals in a tiebreaker. Nimes 2014 bronze medallists, represented in Ankara by Natalia Lesniak, Karina Lipiarska and Wioleta Myszor, Poland will need to dig deep to beat the now-favourites in the competition.

Japan had silver at the Las Vegas 2012 World Archery Indoor Championships and have shown impressive form this time around: A straight-set win over France in the quarters was followed by a 5-1 victory over Russia in the semis.

It’s fun to fancy the underdog!

Advantage: Poland

Recurve men’s team gold final (afternoon session): France  / Germany 

The recurve men’s team final features two European teams with an opportunity to register an unexpected world title.

Frenchmen Florent Mulot, Olivier Tavernier and Thomas Antoine beat Russia in an incredible semifinal shoot-off, springing the fourth seeded French team into the final and leaving favourites Russia to shoot for bronze.

It’s a new look for France’s indoor squad, who haven’t found much previous success at this event.

Germany took out the defending world champion Ukraine in the semis, 5-3. The fourth-placed finishers at Nimes 2014, Florian Floto, Florian Kahllund and Carlo Schmitz seeded third in Ankara, then posted a 58+ set average en route to the final.

Advantage: Germany