20 August 2007 - Beijing Test Event: Quotes of Day 2 – Ranking Round

Olympic Test Event – Quotes of Day 2 – Ranking Round Beijing – 20 August 2007   Recurve Men   Comments from Alan WILLS (GBR) and Simon TERRY (GBR) on the Men's Ranking Round.   WILLS Alan (GBR) - Archer On the weather: "The weather is nice, warm, with little wind. But I have been suffering from a shoulder problem."   On his aims for this event: “To reach medal position and to come in the top 8 in the individual competition.”   On the preparation: “It’s the end of the season, so I have just been training as normal.”   TERRY Simon (GBR) - Archer On his performance: “I didn’t start well, probably because of the wind and the arrows were all going left. The flag was also flying to the left, but I just ignored the flag and shot for the middle. And in the second half, I started well. It could be better, but it was all right.”   On his aims for this event: “(I have) no goals, just to keep going on. The head-to-head match is next. I just want to keep winning the matches and don’t try to think of the finals, just take one step at a time.”   Comments from Romain GIROUILLE after he broke the French 70 metre Round Record as well as his personal best in the Men's Ranking Round.   ROMAIN GIROUILLE (FRA) - Archer On breaking the French 70 metre Round Record as well as his personal best: "Though ranking 13th today I feel as pleased to make a breakthrough on my personal best today and to break the French record for the 70 metre round as I did in Leipzig this March winning the Junior World Championship. It is so great that the French team broke two records today in the women’s and men’s ranking round. To prepare for the Beijing Olympic Games held next year, we will do a lot of training in various countries to adjust ourselves to different weathers as our coach plans, and at the same time we will participate in a variety of competitions to get familiar with the facilities and learn how to perform well. ”   Comments from YONG Fu Jun (CHN) and the coach GUO Mei Zhen (CHN) after YONG scored 645 in the Men’s Ranking Round and was ranked 41st.   YONG Fu Jun (CHN) - Archer On today’s performance: “I was not in good shape today, and I did not perform well.”   On the preparations for the Olympics: “We are working hard for the Olympics. It is still very important for us, but it will be a great challenge because so many competitive teams will participate.”   On the objectives for the Olympics: “It’s hard to say, because many factors will influence us in the match, such as luck and weather. Actually, it is our performance on the spot that really counts.”   GUO Mei Zhen (CHN) - Coach On the team’s performance: "The overall performance is OK, but our men’s team did not perform well. All the athletes are under huge pressure."   On dealing with such pressure: “There is really great pressure on the Chinese team. The athletes will practise harder hereafter.”   On the expectations for this tournament: “There is still a gap between the Chinese team and the world-class teams.”   Comments from FURUKAWA Takaharu (JPN) after scoring 668 in the men’s ranking round and was ranked 7th.   FURUKAWA Takaharu (JPN) On his performance: "I am in very good shape today, but the last several arrows were not very good."   On his objective: “I came here to adapt to the conditions in Beijing, and to gather experience of high-level competitions so that I can shoot well next year at the Olympics.”   “With some luck, I may even get gold.”   Comments from the coach Narutoshi SUGIURA (JPN) after Japan scored 1989 in the men’s ranking round and ranked 2nd.   SUGIURA Narutoshi (JPN) - Coach On team performance: "They have done a good job, and have broken the team’s record by 10 points. I think we can achieve medals in both individual and team events."   On the selection of archers for this tournament and for the Olympics: “The selection was based on the archers’ performance in daily training and in tournaments. FURUKAWA and MORIYA will take part in next year’s Olympics and so will AMANO if he keeps doing well in the year to come.”   Comments from KIM Sky (AUS) who scored 678 in the men’s ranking round and was ranked 1st.   KIM Sky (AUS) - Archer On his performance: "Good! I’m quite satisfied.”   On his expectation in the following rounds: “I want to win.”   On his impression of the weather and venue: “It is very hot in Beijing. Sticky! But the venue is really good. I love the Green Archery Field!”   Comments from ZABRODSKIY STANISLAV (RUS) after the team scored 1985 and ranked 3rd.   ZABRODSKIY Stanislav - Russia’s Head Coach On the Russian team’s performance:  "I’m not satisfied yet. The result is OK, but they could have done better.”    On the advantage of the Russian team: “They are very tough, really tough! We keep on training and training very hard.”   On the weather of Beijing: “It’s very hot and sticky! Our archers don’t have much experience with the conditions living in Beijing. They find it is hard for them to adapt to the weather here.”   Comments from Magnus PETERSSON (SWE) after scoring 664 in the men’s ranking and was ranked 11th.   PETERSSON Magnus (SWE) - Archer On the weather: "It’s very hot, and my clothes are full of sweat which made me feel like I was shooting in a swimming pool. But I like it, it’s lovely here."   On the next goal after qualifying for 2008 Games: “To win the Olympics.”   On the factors that influence the performance: “I have two kids and a full-time job, so I don’t have enough time for training which can affect my results.   On the venue and other conditions: “The field here is fantastic, and the other conditions are also very good.”   Recurve Women   Comments from the coach YOUNG Sool Jang (KOR) after women’s ranking round.   YOUNG Sool Jang (KOR) - Coach On the performance: "I am not satisfied with today’s performance of the women’s team."   On the venue: "I have attended four Olympics before. The archery field here is very beautiful, and weather today is quite clear - the wind is neither strong nor weak, and we are not worried about its effect. It’s very nice for us to get familiar with the venue here. "   On which team will be the strongest opponent to win gold in the Olympics: “As to the women’s team, China and Poland are certainly very competitive. The men’s British team is also challenging.”   ”   Comments from Berengere SCHUH after she broke the French FITA Round Record in the Women's Ranking Round.   SCHUH Berengere (FRA) - Archer On breaking the French FITA Round Record: "I am really happy to chalk a new French Record for FITA Round with 657 points ranking 4th today, so it is a big day for me. During the match, I wasn’t distracted by my Georgian opponent who was shooting at the same target. Even though she caught up once, she finished ranking 8th and I just kept focusing on my own shooting. My main objective is gaining a medal in the Beijing Olympic Games next year.”   Comments from FOLKARD Naomi (GBR) after the women’s ranking round where she scored 646 and was ranked 12th.   FOLKARD Naomi (GBR) - Archer On not performing well on the 7th and 8th ends: "I shot to the clicker (in the 7th end), then I got a one (in the 8th end). And after these two ends, I lost my confidence."   On her objectives: “The outcome does not matter. I am just learning for next year, like becoming familiar with the surroundings, the weather and the winds. This should help me to be mentally stronger next year.”   On the weather: “It’s very hot, and maybe it will affect my performance and concentration.” “We’ll go to Macau for 7 to 10 days, to get used to the weather. And we’ll be doing some hot weather training in Australia in January.”   Comments from Alison WILLIAMSON (GBR) after the women’s ranking round where she scored 625 and was ranked 33rd.   WILLIAMSON Alison (GBR) - Archer On her performance: "I haven’t been very well today, so my ranking is not so good."   On the importance of the test event: “I can do my preparation for the Olympics, and it’s very good to see the ground and the conditions.”   On opponents from Korea: “I don’t feel any pressure from the Korean archers. I just try to shoot the best I can shoot. I can only control what I do, but I can not control anyone else. I have a lot of respect for the Korean archers, they shoot very well, but I’ll still try to do what I need to do.”   Comments from ERDYNIYEVA Natalya (RUS) after the ranking round in the Olympic Green Archery Field.   ERDYNIYEVA Natalya (RUS) - Archer On her performance: “I performed just OK this time. I think I could have performed better. There was no wind. I don’t know why.”   On the importance of the Test Event: “I think the test event is very important, because there is only one year before the Olympic Games. It is a good chance to test the field.”   On her carrying her Fu Wa (Beijing Olympic mascot) throughout the match: "She is Jing Jing! My brother bought it for me here in Beijing. It means Good Luck."   Comments from Jennifer NICHOLS (USA) after the Women's Ranking Round.   NICHOLS Jennifer (USA) - Archer On her expectation on this event: “Actually, I don’t have any expectation. I just came here to experience the weather and the venue. It’s my first time in China. I’m here for experience.”   On the weather and venue: “The weather does take some getting used to, because I come from a very dry place and here is much more humid. But the venue is so beautiful, I like it very much. There is a little wind today, but it’s an excellent location.”   On what she chats about with her opponent during the competition: “Sometimes we just talked about the weather or how we shot one end or another. Sometimes about family at home. Just all kinds of stuff. It helped me to be more concentrated and relaxed.”   On her preparation: “Just like other competitions, I trained before and shot lots of arrows. We have many competitions in the row, for example the national championships at the beginning of July. So I only stayed at home for 4 days before this event.”   Comments from TONETTA Elena (ITA) after the Women's Ranking Round.   TONETTA Elena (ITA) - Archer On her performance: “I shot one miss but I’m happy because I shot 641, especially in the last 6 arrows, I shot 59.”   On her expectation: “I hope to be the 4th. However, I’ll do what I can.”   On her preparation: “This year I have some problems with my archery, because it’s my last year at school. In July I have a very important exam. So I haven’t shot that much.”   News Service “Good Luck Beijing”