5 early-round match-ups to watch at Rio 2016

The three days in the middle of the Olympic archery competition consist of first- and second-round individual elimination matches. The period of 8-10 August is the make-or-break part of the Games.

Win twice, and you’ll appear on medal day – with a chance at making a run at the Olympic podium.

Lose, and your Games is over.

Here are five early match-ups to keep an eye on…

1. Pasqualucci  / David 

Areneo David – Malawi’s first Olympic archer – has an incredible back story. (The video is long, but worth watching when you have time.) David Pasqualucci, his first-round opponent and the number three seed at Rio 2016, should advance…

But stranger things have happened – and, win or lose, it’ll be a pleasure to hear what David thought of his experience in the Olympic archery arena.

2. Kumari  / Esebua 

India’s most famous archer, Deepika Kumari, is a four-time Archery World Cup Final silver medallist. She lost in the first-round at London, her only Olympic appearance.

Kristine Esebua finished second in the worlds in 2011. She’s at her fourth consecutive Olympics, but has never finished higher than 17th.

Both Kumari and Esebua have proven they can go deep into a bracket. But in Rio, only one will make it past the first phase.

3. Huston  / Van der Ven 

A third place at the Europeans in 2016, where he qualified a space to Rio, is the highlight of 20-year-old Patrick Huston’s young international career. The out-spoken Brit has a tough opponent in round one.

Rick van der Ven, the world number seven who finished fourth at London and has been a European Champion, under-performed a little on the ranking round.

Both he and Huston are better in matchplay.

4. Dos Santos / Nagamine

“If you’ve got ginga you can do anything,” Rio-local Ane Marcelle Dos Santos, who’s been a Samba dancer in the Sambodromo for most of her life, said earlier in the week. (‘Ginga’ translates roughly as something close to ‘X factor’.) Now, in the same venue transformed into the Olympic archery arena, she’s already shown she can handle the pressure.

In Brazil’s first-round women’s team match, Dos Santos shot four of her six arrows in the 10.

She shot well in qualifying, seeding 26th, and is the favourite heading into her first-round match against Japan’s Nagamine Saori.

5. Ellison  in the 2nd round

Brady Ellison is one of the best archers of this era. Of that, there is no doubt. He’s a three-time Archery World Cup Champion, two-time team silver medallist at the Olympics (since Saturday) and has a host of other accolades to his name.

In two Olympic appearances – Beijing and London – he’s never made it past the second round.

Assuming the number two seed in Rio passes Ali El Ghrari in round one, he’ll then face either Brazil’s Marcus D’Almeida or his own teammate in Jake Kaminski.

If he wins, he’ll qualify for his first individual finals day at the Games.

The Rio 2016 Olympic archery competition continues with individual eliminations on 8-10 August.

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