Maja Jager: “Ready from the 1st shot”

As host nation of the 2016 Hyundai Archery World Cup Final, Denmark received one qualified athlete in each of the four competition disciplines – recurve men, recurve women, compound men and compound women.

World Archery Champion in 2013, Maja Jager carries’s Denmark’s recurve women’s interests in Odense – and it’s a responsibility she took on after the team missed out on qualifying for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

“After Antalya we had some rest, we evaluated everything we did, put it on a box and moved forward to focus on what’s next,” said Maja.

One of the first parts of “what’s next” is this Hyundai Archery World Cup Final on home soil.

(Although Maja has, for the last three years, called Korea her home – she lives there and trains with legendary coach Kim Hyung Tak – her parents still live in Denmark, and she relishes the opportunity to return.

Odense is an event, Maja said, that serves as an opportunity to promote archery among the Danish people – building on the success of the 2015 World Archery Championships in Copenhagen – and put on a good sporting show.

“Having the Final at home means a lot as this is the first time that I get to shoot here since the world championships last year. I think it’s going to be a good experience and a lot of fun, especially on home soil,” she said.

Of the three stages in 2016, Shanghai brought Jager’s best performance. She finished fourth after losing to Korea's Kim Chaeyun in the bronze final.

Her first match in front of the Odense local(ish) crowd will be against Rio 2016 team bronze medallist Tan Ya-Ting from Chinese Taipei.

“There are a lot of good archers here, so I hope there’s a good show. I will enjoy, go out there and shoot my best, and, if I’m lucky enough, win my first match. There are just a few matches, so you’ve got to be ready from the first shot to do well,” Maja said.

The 2016 Hyundai Archery World Cup Final runs 24/25 September in Odense, Denmark.