BROWN and STUBBS in three gold finals

Saturday, 16 July was the big elimination day for the individuals. Compound men were the first ones to shoot their matches in the morning with the set system. They were followed by the Compound Men W1 and the Compound Women. Every archer shoots three arrows per set. There are two points to win per set, hence six set points needed for victory. If the match is tied at the end of the fifth set, there is a one-arrow shoot-off.   The three medallists per category will gain a Paralympic individual quota places for London 2012.   Compound Men Individual Open – 1/48 Elimination In the first elimination round three sets were not enough for Eugen FERNANDEZ NOGALES (ESP) to beat Adam DUDKA (POL). Their tight match began with 2-0 for the Spaniard, but in the second end they shot 9-9-10 and 10-10-8 (3-1). FERNANDEZ NOGALES also won the third set shooting 9-9-8 against 9-6-9 of the Pole (5-1). The fourth set ended 5-3 thanks to the 8-9-9 of DUDKA against the 7-9-8 of the Spaniard. They tied on the fifth end 5-5 (8-6-9 for the Spaniard, 9-X10-10 for the Pole). In the shoot-off DUDKA shot first but it was only an 8. With a 9 FERNANDEZ NOGALES clinched the match.   There were also tie-break situations for Fernando CHAGAS (BRA) v Eric THOMAS (GBR), Vilas DAWANE (IND) v HUANG Chu Hui (CHN), Pierre CLAESSON (SWE) v Anton Pierre SWART (RSA). CHAGAS lead after the first two sets (2-0, 4-0), but THOMAS won the third shooting 9-10-10 against 8-9-9 of the Brazilian (4-2). They scored 10-9-9 and 9-9-10 on the fourth set (5-3), but THOMAS won the fifth set to tie the match at 5-5. With a 10 scored in the shoot-off THOMAS won the match.   CLAESSON and SWART tied on the first set (1-1), then SWART took the lead until the fourth set (3-1, 4-2, 5-3). With his good shooting, CLAESSON tied it on the fifth, shooting 10-10-9 against 9-9-10 for SWART (5-5), and won the shoot-off scoring a 9 against an 8.   After an initial tie (1-1) on the first set, DAWANE kept trailing in the next two sets (1-3, 1-5). In the fourth set DAWANE shot better than HAUNG (9-8-X10 to 8-9-7). A 6 shot by the Chinese athlete on the fifth set let the Indian competitor tie the match at 5-5. Nevertheless in the shoot-off HUANG won, shooting a 10 against a 9.   Compound Men Individual Open – 1/24 Elimination There was a thrilling match between Guillermo RODRIGUEZ GONZALES (ESP) and Eric THOMAS (GBR). They tied it on the first end 1-1, then they won a set each: 28-23 for RODRIGUEZ GONZALES (3-1) and 28-26 for THOMAS (3-3). THOMAS also won the fourth set shooting 9-8-9 against the 8-9-8 for the Spanish (5-3). On the fifth end THOMAS shot three 9s very fast and RODRIGUEZ GONZALES’ final 8-9-10 were not enough to tie the match. The fifth set was shared and the set point earned by THOMAS gave him the victory 6-4.   The Dutch shooter Mari SCHRAVEN (No. 43) met the better-seeded Peter KASCAK (No. 22) from Slovakia. After a tie in the first two ends (1-1, 2-2), KASCAK won the third one shooting 10-9-9 to 9-9-8 (4-2). On the fourth end KASCAK shot 10-9-9 and SCHRAVEN two 9s and a 9 very close to the 10-ring. The judge said it was out and the Slovakian clinched the match 6-4.   Tom VANGEN (NOR) met Martin IMBODEN (SUI) in a 5-set thriller that ended with a tight shoot-off. They began with a tie (1-1), then they won a set each: 10-10-10 for VANGEN to 9-9-8 for the Swiss (3-1), 9-9-8 for the Norwegian to 10-10-8 for IMBODEN (3-3). The Norwegian took the fourth set 30-28 (5-3), before the Swiss also won the fifth set 30-28! At the shoot-off they both shot an 8, but VANGEN’s arrow was the closest one and he won the match.   Similar situation in the match between Pierre CLAESSON (SWE) and Maurice CHAMPEY (FRA): 1-1, 3-1, 3-3, 3-5, 5-5. At the shoot-off they both shot a 9, but the French archer’s arrow was the closest. CHAMPEY advanced to the next round!   Compound Men Individual Open – 1/16 Elimination The reigning world champion Kevin EVANS (CAN) met Richard HENNEHANE (seeded No. 39) from the UK. The Canadian started OK with 28 but the British athlete scored 29 to take a 2-0 lead. Then EVANS shot a very low 5 and two 10s, while HENNEHANE had 8-X10-9 to take his advantage at 4-0. The 9-9-8 shot by EVANS in the last set were not enough to win over the 9-9-10 shot by the Briton, who ousted the world champion 6-0!   Tom VANGEN (NOR) won the match against Lewis DENTON (USA) after a shoot-off (2-0, 2-2, 3-3, 5-3, 5-5). The No. 9 DENTON scored a 6 in the shoot-off, while VANGEN scored a 10 for another upset. Same situation for Mikhail DIKTOVANNYY (RUS/37) who won against Keijo KALLUNKI (FIN/5), pre-seeded in 1/16: 1-1, 3-1, 5-1, 5-3, 5-5, 6-5. The Russian scored 9 in the shoot-off compared to the Finn’s 8.   Abdoullah SENER (TUR) met Maurice CHAMPEY (FRA) in a very tight match. After an initial tie at 1-1, SENER won the second set 29 to 28 (3-1). CHAMPEY won the third set shooting 9-X10-10 against 9-10-9 for the Turk. It was 5-3 at the end of the fourth set thanks to the 9-9-10 shot by SENER against the 9-9-8 shot by CHAMPEY. In the last set the Frenchman shot first: 10-9-9. SENER shot a 10 and an 8 and his final arrow hit the centre of the target (X10!) to win the match 6-4!   The Italian Alberto SIMONELLI (4) shot against Frank HAUDOIN (29) from France: 0-2, 1-3, 1-5, 3-5. On the final set they shot very similar arrows: both of them shot 10-9-10, tying the set. The match ended 6-4 for HAUDOIN, another upset!   Compound Men Individual Open – 1/8 Elimination Tough match between two Koreans: GO Sung Kil (18) and LEE Ouk Soo (2). GO won the first two sets (2-0, 4-0), then they tied at the third set. 9-9-10 for GO and X10-9-9 for LEE (5-1). LEE won the fourth set shooting a perfect 30, while GO shot a 28 (5-3). Victory for GO in the last set 6-4, which ended in a tie (10-7-10 to 10-8-9).   SENER (TUR) defeated HAUDOIN (FRA) after a tight match: 2-0, 3-1, 3-3, 5-3, 7-3. VANGEN (NOR) and Jiri KLICH (CZE) began their match with a perfect tie: 28-28 (1-1). On the second set VANGEN shot 10-10-10 and KLICH scored three 9s (3-1). The third set was so alike: 30-27 again (5-1). KLICH came back shooting a 9-9-9 and VANGEN 10-8-8 (5-3 for the Norwegian). Three 9s for KLICH brought the match to a tie-break: 5-5. During the shoot-off KLICH scored a 9, but VANGEN shot a 10 to win the match.   Mikhail DIKTOVANNYY (RUS) met his teammate Zubar ALEXANDR (RUS) in a thrilling match. After a tie on the first set (1-1), ALEXANDR won the second one (1-3) and DIKTOVANNYY the third one (3-3). Both the fourth and the fifth set ended with a tie: X10-9-9 to 9-10-10 (4-4) and 10-9-7 to 10-7-9 (5-5). They even tied in the shoot-off with two arrows in the X10-ring! However ALEXANDR’s arrow was closer to the centre and he clinched the match!   Compound Men Individual Open – Quarterfinals The Norwegian Tom VANGEN (41) met Philippe HORNER (SUI), first in the ranking list after the qualification round. The match was tough and HORNER took the lead immediately. He won very quickly shooting 10-9-9 to 9-8-8 (2-0) in the first set, X10-X10-10 to 9-7-8 (4-0) in the second, 10-10-9 to 8-8-9 in the third (6-0). There was also a quick match between Richard HENNEHANE (GBR) and GO Sung Kil (KOR), who won after four sets: 2-0, 4-0, 4-2, 6-2. John Stephen STUBBS (GBR) and Peter KASCAK (SVK) tied twice after the first set (1-1) and after the third (3-3). They both shot 29 in the fourth set and they did not break the tie (4-4). Finally STUBBS reached the semifinals shooting a perfect 30 against a 29 (6-4). The match between Zubar ALEXANDR (RUS) and Abdullah SENER (TUR) ended after a hard shoot-off. They shot 27-29 (0-2), 29-29 (1-3), 30-28 (3-3), 25-30 (3-5), 30-26 (5-5). During the shoot-off they both scored 9, but SENER’s arrow was closer to the centre and he won the match.   Compound Men Individual Open – Semifinals John Stephen STUBBS (GBR) met GO Sung Kil (KOR) in a high level match. However a 7 shot in the first set penalised GO until the end. It was the only arrow shot outside the gold in the whole match. STUBBS took the lead with 29 to 26 in the first set (2-0). In the second set both of the archers shot 9-10-10 (3-1). GO won the third set scoring 29 to 28 (3-3). A 10-10-10X for STUBBS in the fourth gave him the advantage 5-3 (10X-10X-9 shot by the Korean). Finally, a 30 shot in the final set was not enough for GO to come-back, as STUBBS shot another perfect 30 with three X10s to clinch the match 6-4!   The semifinal between Philippe HORNER (SUI) and Abdullah SENER (TUR) ended 6-4 as well in favour of the Swiss. SENER won the first end 29-27 (0-2), lost the second one 28-29 (2-2) and tied the third one scoring a 28 (3-3). HORNER shot 10-10-X10 in the fourth set winning two set points (5-3) against SENER who shot X10-9-9. On the last set both of them shot a 28, enough for HORNER to win 6-4. He will meet STUBBS for the gold tomorrow; The British shooter will appear in three gold finals!   SENER and GO will play for bronze and the last Paralympic quota.   Compound Men Individual W1 – 1/16 Elimination There were just two matches in the 1/16 elimination round for the individual compound men in the W1 category. Zdenek SEBEK (CZE) met KIM Jihyun (KOR) and won in four sets: 0-2, 2-2, 4-2, 6-2. Jerry SHIELDS (USA) won over Masakazu NISHIWAKI (JPN) after the shoot-off: 22 to 22 (1-1), 21-22 (1-3), 28-20 (3-3), 26-21 (5-3), 19-22 (5-5). During the shoot-off NISHIWAKI shot a 4 and so it was an easy victory for the American, who shot a 9.   Compound Men Individual W1 – 1/8 Elimination Jeffrey Rhoden FABRY (USA) met Gabriele FERRANDI (ITA), tying on the first set (1-1). Then they won a set each: 9-9-10 to 9-9-8 (3-1 for the American) and 9-9-7 to 9-9-8 shot by the Italian (3-3). The fourth set was won easily by FABRY (5-3) who shot a 9-8-8 against the weak 6-6-9 of the Italian. The latter shot some good arrows on the last set for FERRANDI (9-8-6) but not enough to overcome FABRY’s 10-8-7. FABRY won 7-3. Similar situation between Peter KINIK (SVK) and Uwe HERTER (GER): 1-1, 3-1, 3-3, 3-5, 3-7.   Compound Men Individual W1 – Quarterfinals John CAVANAGH (GBR) shot a 5-set match against Jeffrey Rhoden FABRY (USA). After losing the first set, CAVANAGH took the lead and went straight to the semifinals: 25-26 (0-2), 25-25 (1-3), 28-27 (3-3), 28-24 (5-3), 28-23 (7-3).   There was also a tight match between Osmo KINNUNEN (FIN) and Norbert MURPHY (CAN). The Finn won the first set shooting three 9s against the 9-8-8 of the Canadian (2-0), but MURPHY tied the score at the end of the second set shooting 10-9-8 to 9-9-8 (2-2). MURPHY shot two 9s and a 5 giving two set points to his opponent, who shot 10-9-9 (2-4). Both of them shot a 25 in the fourth set (5-3), but KINNUNEN shot 29 to 27 in the last set, clinching the match (7-3) and going to the semifinals.   Davis DRAHONINSKY (CZE) met and defeated Shinichi SAITO (JPN) in a quick match: 26-25 (2-0), 26-24 (4-0), 29-29 (1-5), 29-28 (1-7).   Compound Men Individual W1 – Semifinals The Finn Osmo KINNUNEN (4) won easily over his teammate Jean Pierre ANTONIOS (1). In the first two sets they shot 10-10-8 to 9-9-7 (2-0 for KINNUNEN) and 10-9-9 to 9-8-8 (4-0). ANTONIOS won the third set shooting 9-9-X10 against 9-7-9 (4-2) and they both shot a 26 in the fourth set (5-3). KINNUNEN won the last set shooting 10-9-9 against 7-8-10 and clinched the match.   KINNUNEN will shoot for the gold medal against the Czech David DRAHONINSKY (2), who defeated John CAVANAGH (GBR) seeded at the sixth place. The Britton will play ANTONIOS for bronze and the final Paralympic birth.   Individual Compound Women Open – 1/16 Elimination The match between Ksenilia MARKITANTOVA (UKR) and WANG Yanhong (CHN) ended with a shoot-off: 2-0, 2-2, 2-4, 4-4, 5-5. The Chinese shot a 9 and won over the Ukrainian who shot a 7.   Tight match also for Ane Miren ALBERDI (ESP) who met Karen VAN NEST (CAN): 2-0, 4-0, 4-2, 5-3, 5-5. Tie-break! During the shoot-off an 8 was enough for the Spaniard to win over the Canadian, who shot a 7.   The match between Alnara BADIOLA (ESP) and Ifigenia NERI (ITA) was full of ups and downs. They each won a set at the beginning: 2-0 for BADIOLA after the first set. In the second set the Spaniard shot three 9s and NERI shot two 9s and a 9 very close to the 10-ring. The judge said it was a 10 and she won the set (2-2). The score moved to 2-4 on the third set with a 10-9-8 shot by the Italian against three 7s of the Spaniard. BADIOLA tied on the fourth set scoring 9-10-10 against 7-8-9 for the Italian. On the fifth set NERI shot 8-10-6 and let the Spanish shooter win the set and the match with 10-9-9 (6-4).   Individual Compound Women Open – 1/8 Elimination The No. 13 and newly elected in the World Archery Athlete’s Committee Pippa BRITTON (GBR) qualified for the quarterfinals by beating a surprising, so far, Miho NAGANO (JPN/29). The British athlete prevailed 6-2 (27-26, 29-23, 226-27, 28-26). The other seeds that made it to the quarterfinals were quite logical: 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9.   Compound Women Individual Open – Quarterfinals False start for Danielle BROWN (GBR), who had taken the first place in the ranking after the qualification round. She shot a 7 with her first arrow, giving Ainara BADIOLA (ESP) the chance of taking the lead 28-25 (2-0). BROWN soon recovered shooting 29-28 (2-2) and then took the lead after the third set shooting X10-8-9 to 9-7-9 (6-2) and went straight to the semifinals. There was no surprise either in the other match: the archers in the top 5 won the quarterfinals against their lower-seeded opponents. The Chinese CHEN Min Yi (5) defeated Pippa BRITTON (13) from the UK, the Russian Stepanida ARTAKHINOVA (3) won over the Turk Gulbin SU (6) and Zandra REPPE (SWE), second placed after the qualification round, beat the Spanish Carmen RUBIO (7).   Compound Women Individual Open – Semifinals The gold final will be shot between Stepanida ARTAKHINOVA (RUS) and Danielle BROWN (GBR), who won the semifinal matches against Zandra REPPE (SWE) and CHEN Min Yi (CHN) respectively.   ARTAKHINOVA and REPPE started with a tie 29-29 (1-1). The second set was won by the Russian archer who shot another 29 against three 9s for the Swede (3-1). A 30 (X10-10-10) made by ARTAKHINOVA helped her win the third set (5-1). REPPE came back at 3-5, but the last set was 10-9-9 for the Russian to 9-9-9 for the Swedish. ARTAKHINOVA won 7-3.   BROWN won the first set 28-26 (2-0) and they both shot a 28 in the second (3-1). CHEN shot three 9s in the third set, but with three 10s BROWN won the set (5-1). Nothing changed after the final set, with 9-9-10 shot by BROWN and 9-9-8 shot by CHEN (7-1). BROWN, as is the case with her mixed team partner STUBBS, will appear in three finals tomorrow!   CHEN and REPPE will shoot for bronze and last Paralympic spot!   Rebecca RABOZZI World Archery Communication