Chinese Taipei’s Le, Wei lead recurves at Asia Cup ranking round

Host nation archers Le Chien-Ying and Wei Chun-Heng, Iranian compounder Esmaeil Ebadi and 15-year-old Divya Dhayal – tipped as one to watch out of India – took top seedings over a ranking round threatened by inclement weather at July’s Asia Cup stage in Taipei City.

Le’s 662 led the recurve women, and was followed by her three Chinese Taipei teammates, and Wei’s 667 in the recurve men.

“There have been so many competitions this year! I feel like every day we are training,” said Le, who was on the road for nearly a month at Hyundai Archery World Cup stages in Antalya and Salt Lake City, with a training camp in between.

“All I can do is try my best to keep calm and shoot in the competition just like I shoot daily when I’m training.”

Asian Games Champion Esmaeil Ebadi, who scored 699 out of a possible 720 points over the 72-arrow 50-metre round, said he was used to the high temperatures in Taipei but the conditions did have him feeling dizzy towards the end of qualification.

“It’s a pretty nice venue here,” he added, referring to the national sports university hosting the event. “The wind is easy to handle and I feel quite comfortable.”

Ebadi’s leading score came in around his average, while other divisions came in lower than might have been expected.

Pictures and quotes courtesy Chinese Taipei Archery Association and Tetsu Lee.

The Taipei City stage of the 2017 Asia Cup runs 4-9 July.