Archers flock to Antalya ahead of second European Grand Prix

The uncertainty of the past 12 months is fading, and the international calendar is becoming more real by the day – especially for the recurve archers still searching for Olympic quota places.

There won’t be any of those awarded at the European Grand Prix this week in Antalya. But the venue will host the European continental qualifier – the next event that will award quota spots – as part of the European Championships in late May and early June.

Archers rarely need an excuse to travel to this popular destination, but getting properly (re-)acclimatised to this competition field ahead of such a pivotal tournament is a good one.

Reigning World Archery Champion Natalia Avdeeva is in action this week in Turkey, as are the impressive host team, led by Mete Gazoz and two-time Paralympic Champion Zahra Nemati.

The world ranking is now officially operational once again, and the points on offer at this first competition with status since they unfroze are valuable.

Key information

What’s happening? A European Grand Prix on 7-11 April 2021 in Antalya, Turkey.

What’s at stake? World ranking points.

What’s the story? Nearly 250 archers have flown to the popular competition destination on the Mediterranean coast. The international season is kicking into gear – and these athletes want to be ready for it. This venue will also host the European Championships in June.

Schedule

• Thursday 8 April: Qualification
• Friday 9 April: Early eliminations
• Saturday 10 April: Eliminations
• Sunday 11 April: Finals

How to watch

World Archery will stream the individual finals delayed on its YouTube channel at 14h00 CET on Tuesday 13 April. Live scores will be available on the World Archery website, and there will be coverage on World Archery’s digital platforms throughout the competition.

Home-field advantage?

Of all of the nations that will return to this field in Antalya in less than two months to contest Europe’s last reserved quota places for the postponed Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, there are two that stand out: Turkey and France.

Given the recent international success of the Turkish team and the fact that the French boast the reigning Olympic silver medallist, Jean-Charles Valladont, among their ranks, neither expected to be in this position, quota-less.

This week’s event, of course, isn’t quite as important. But call it a preview. Archers from these two countries are bound to clash.

Who’s competing?

These are the top-ranked archers shooting in Antalya:

• Recurve men: Mete Gazoz, Turkey (world rank: 5)
• Recurve women: Ksenia Perova, Russia (world rank: 8)
• Compound men: Evren Cagiran, Turkey (world rank: 4)
• Compound women: Yesim Bostan, Turkey (world rank: 4)

A total of 244 archers from the national teams of Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Belarus, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Egypt, Estonia, France, Germany, Hungary, Iran, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, Moldova, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine, the US Virgin Islands and Uzbekistan, a total of 30 countries, are registered for this tournament.

Competition at the European Grand Prix in Antalya starts with qualification on Thursday.