Korea’s Kim Jongho beat Federico Pagnoni of Italy in the compound men‘s gold medal match, 147 points to 145, at the first event of the season in Shanghai and became the first compound man to secure a stage winner’s invitation to the Hyundai Archery World Cup Final in Samsun in September.
The new rule for 2018 means that the champions at the legs in Antalya, Salt Lake City and Berlin will also automatically qualify.
“I had silver in the team and the mixed team so I felt a lot of pressure, but I’ve practised a lot in Korea for this big win,” said Kim.
Korea’s men lost the compound men’s team final to the USA by a point in the morning on compound Saturday in Shanghai, and world pairs champion Jongho and partner Choi Bomin fell to Denmark in the mixed team gold medal match.
To prevent a third silver, Kim opened his individual final with a 30-point end, taking a two-point lead, and never looked back.
So Chaewon took women’s bronze to add a second individual podium for the Korean compound squad in Shanghai.
“I was nervous because of the wind, but I calmed down to finish strong and win,” she said.
Braden Gellenthien beat Mike Schloesser in the compound men’s bronze final.
Both started strong, but Mike’s nerves got the better of him in the middle of the match and left Braden a large advantage. The US archer could be seen talking to Schloesser on the shooting line through the closing shots, match all but secure, allowing the Dutch archer to regain his composure and finish back in the middle.
“I could hear him saying, ‘good shot, go for it’,” he said.
Mike has been open about his nerves in the final arena. He kept them in check during his World Archery Indoor Championship win in February – but struggled in Shanghai.
“I’m not happy with a few things but I’m taking steps; there’s still work to do,” added Mike.
The first stage of the Hyundai Archery World Cup takes place in Shanghai, China on 23-29 April.
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