15 March 2007 - Indoor World Championships: A lot of surprises in the eliminations matches !

A lot of surprises in the eliminations matches ! Izmir - 15 March 2007   What a day of elimination matches at the Izmir Kültürpark Hall ! Many matches went to tie-break and many heads were cut early on !   After the qualifications yesterday, the Individuals were paired on a 16 players chart. They played single eliminations matches of 12 arrows (max. 120 pts); winners go on, losers go home. They shot all the way to the quarterfinals and many favourites were eliminated.   Recurve Men Number 3 seed, Wunderle (USA) lost in the first round to Serdiuk (UKR) 117-118 pts. The Ukrainian could not carry on his success later on, losing to teammate Ivashko who qualified to the semis. Birthday man, Rohrberg (GER), had a good day as well. He will play Galiazzo (ITA) in the semis. The Italian shot 120, 119 and 118 in his three matches today, a superb perforamance. One head that barely didn’t fall was the one of Rice (USA), number 1 seed. He started with a 120 pts in the first round, then 115 pts in the second round. He played Frenchman Tavernier in the quarter-final. The Frenchman opened with a perfect 60 pts, leading Rice by 2 pts. The American answered with a perfect 60 to tie the match at 118 pts. They went to sudden-death tie-break. They both shot 10 in the first and in the second arrow. In the third arrow, Rice just hit the 10 circle while Tavernier fell to the 9. The Frenchman said : “It was really close. I didn’t feel too good with my last arrow, maybe I should have reloaded. It’s too bad, I often finish at the 4-5th place in Indoor. I would have loved reaching the podium this time.”. Rice will play Ivashko in the semis on Saturday.   Recurve Women The young Dabgaeva (RUS) and number 1 seed didn’t survive the first round. She lost in the tie-break vs Myszor. In this quarter of the draw, it’s Hayakawa (JPN) – going through on a tie-break vs Unruh (GER) – who reached the semis. The Japanese will play Dorokhova (UKR), silver medallist in Aalborg 2005. Number 2 seed, Folkard (GBR) shot consistentely (116, 117, 117 pts) to join the last four. Number 3 seed and four times World Champion, Valeeva (ITA) stopped her come-back prematurely vs young teammate Lionetti, 114 -116 pts. The Italian went on to meet the 2003 World Champion, Schuh (FRA), on a exciting quarter-final. They tied at 113 pts and went to “over-time”. They both shot a 10 in the first arrow. They both shot a 10 in the second arrow. In the third arrow, Lionetti got a 9 while Schuh stayed in the 10. She said : “I was lucky today winning two matches with only 113 pts. My release was too tense and some arrows went “out of the way” – scoring 7 and 8 pts. I must correct it for Saturday but I know what to do.”   Compound Men Number 1 seed, Reo Wilde (USA) didn’t survive either although he shot 120, 118 and 118 pts ! However, 118 pts weren’t enough in his quarterfinal match vs young teamate Gellenthien. The current Junior Outdoor World Champion scored 119 pts to clinch a berth in the semis and will meet Genet (FRA). The Frenchman was quite consistent, too: 120, 119 and 118 pts beating teammate Deloche in the quarter. Number 2 seed, Cousins (USA) went out in the second round. He was tied at 118 pts with Duo (ESP). They both shot a 10 with the first arrow of the tie-break. In the second arrow, Duo shot 10, Cousins 9. The American said: “It’s a shame to lose scoring 118 pts, but that’s the rules of the game. Coming here, we know it and we agree with it. I shot 28 tournaments last year. I would love to win them all, but it’s not possible.” The Spaniard went on to score 120 pts in the quarter and will be in the semis on Saturday. The most exciting match of the day was Haavisro (FIN) vs Pagni (ITA). They tied at 116 pts. They tied at their first two arrows of the tie-break. In the third arrow, the judges went to measure who was closest to center… and they were still exactly tied. For a rare occasion, they had to shoot a fourth arrow in the the tie-break. Haavisro finally won 10-9 ! Unfortunately for him, the Finnish didn’t pass Elzinga (NED) in the quarter, losing 116 to 117 pts. The Dutchman joined Gellenthien, Genet and Duo in the semi-finals.   Compound Women The last number 1 seed Soemod (DEN)… also fell. After surviving a tie-break in the first round, she didn’t manage to beat the veteran Salvi (ITA) in the quarter losing 114-115 pts. Soemod said : “I am disapointed. I shot a 27 in the quarter (one end of three arrows). I could have tied the match with my last arrow, but I shot another 9.” Salvi will meet teammate Galletti (ITA) in the semi-final. Another veteran, Agudo (ESP) beat Fabre (FRA) in their quarter, 115-114 pts. The last quarter-final could have given another classic : Goncharova (RUS) – Van Natta (USA). However, both lost earlier in the first round ! The Russian lost to Garner (GBR) 114-115 pts and said “I was a bit tense and shot too much on the left. I could not correct it during the match. I must shoot with more eagerness in the future.” Van Natta lost in a tie-break vs Svensen (NOR) and said : I didn’t shoot very well today. The tie-break was a very close call, but that’s life. I am looking forward to the Outdoor World Cup.” All this was for the better of our Turkish hosts. Their representative Atici will compete in the semis after beating the Croatian Buden (CRO) in the quarter 116-115 pts.   Didier Miéville FITA Communication