Berlin 2018: Recurve finals line-up and preview

The women’s gold final and the men’s bronze medal match in Berlin will decide the last two recurve athletes that will qualify for the 2018 Hyundai Archery World Cup Final in Samsun, Turkey.

Lee Eun Gyeong and Taylor Worth find themselves in win-and-in situations, with their opponents in the Berlin medal matches already confirmed for the finals roster.

Lee faces home favourite Lisa Unruh and Worth will meet 2017 breakthrough and recurve men’s athlete of the year Steve Wijler.

If neither of them wins, Thomas Chirault and Kang Chae Young – watching from the spectator stands – will be making their Hyundai Archery World Cup Final debuts in September.

METE GAZOZ  / LEE WOO SEOK 
Recurve men's gold final

Two of the biggest up-and-coming talents in the recurve men’s field, both confirmed for the season’s Hyundai Archery World Cup Final in Samsun.

Lee, making his official debut with the Korean men’s team in 2018, will finish the year with a medal at each of the three stages he competed (Korea missed Salt Lake City). He finished second in qualification in Berlin, five points behind his gold final opponent, Gazoz.

The Turkish Olympian has been on a roll in the last month. He won the Mediterranean Games in Tarragona, Spain and then the European Youth Championships in Patras, Greece.

This should be an incredible showdown between two young athlete that already faced each other once on a stage before. Back in 2014, Lee beat Gazoz in the quarterfinals at the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games.

The pick: Gazoz

LEE EUN GYEONG  / LISA UNRUH 
Recurve women’s gold final

Lee Eun Gyeong will want to win this to qualify for Samsun, but she won’t have it easy against home favourite Lisa Unruh. Unruh’s already qualified for the World Cup Final but will want to celebrate this win with her German crowd.

Unruh was only two points better than Lee in qualification, but experience in finals lands on the side of the Olympic silver medallist. If Lisa wins, Lee’s teammate Kang Chae Young makes it to Turkey.

The pick: Lisa

TAYLOR WORTH  / STEVE WIJLER 
Recurve men’s bronze final

Another all-or-nothing final. If Worth wins, he goes to Samsun. But if he doesn’t, then Thomas Chirault, watching from the stands, will take the trip in September.

Fourth seed Worth had a better qualification in Berlin, shooting 19 more points than Wijler. The Australian had a seventh place finish in Shanghai and 17th in Salt Lake City, which he’ll improve upon in Berlin – but just how much?

If Worth wins bronze, the prize will be a ticket to his first Hyundai Archery World Cup Final.

It won’t be easy. His opponent Wijler has cemented a spot as one of the world-leading recurve athletes and recently collected silver in Salt Lake City after only falling to Mauro Nespoli in the final.

The pick: Worth

JUNG DASOMI  / TAN YA-TING 
Recurve women’s bronze final

Jung isn’t in the running for Samsun and Tan’s qualified, no matter what happens.

Jung has finished in the top 10 at each of the 2018 World Cup stages she has attended. But this is her first chance to podium on the circuit since 2014, when she won gold in Medellin.

Her opponent Tan, took bronze in Salt Lake City in June but has proven to be a lot better with her teammates with her on the field this season.

The pick: Jung

The fourth stage of the 2018 Hyundai Archery World Cup takes place in Berlin, Germany on 16 to 22 July.