Final fours: Who wins gold at return of Hyundai Archery World Cup to Chinese soil?
The second stage of the Hyundai Archery World Cup season will conclude in Shanghai this weekend with the final fours line-ups set across all competitions.
One archer in each category will book their spot for the 2023 Hyundai Archery World Cup Final as a stage winner, following on from those who achieved that feat at stage one in Antalya last month.
During the archery+ show, which was streamed live on YouTube, Dutch Olympian Sjef van den Berg dropped his predictions ahead of the weekend.
The compound final fours in Shanghai are scheduled for Saturday afternoon with recurve to follow on Sunday.
Compound women
- Avneet Kaur, India (16)
- Ella Gibson, Great Britain (4)
- Cho Su A, Korea (11)
- Ipek Tomruk, Türkiye (26)
Sjef says: “It’s difficult to predict this one because there are a couple of names that we haven’t seen that much from. Kaur we have seen before but not really a lot and we have Ella Gibson who we have seen all the time in last 15 months or so.”
“Then we have Cho and Tomruk, it’s very difficult to say what we can expect from them. It is not a surprise that they are in the top four, but it will be a surprise who we will see in the top four.”
The favourite? Ella Gibson
Compound men
- Prathamesh Samadhan Jawkar, India (33)
- Robin Jaatma, Estonia (12)
- Yang Jaewon, Korea (11)
- Mike Schloesser, Netherlands (7)
Sjef says: “We have two not-so-experienced archers and two more experienced archers in Jaatma and Schloesser. Jaatma has done a couple of podiums in his junior career and third place at the World Championships, so he knows how to shoot an arrow. Schloesser needs no introduction anymore, I feel like we talk about him every Archery Show.”
“Yang and Jawkar it is very difficult to say, it is a bit of a wildcard with both of them. Both [India and Korea] have recruited a foreign coach to elevate them to the next level, and it seems to be working because we see a Korean compound archer in the top four. India’s results in Antalya were hugely impressive.”
The favourite? Yang Jaewon
Recurve men
- Steve Wijler, Netherlands (24)
- Oh Jin Hyek, Korea (12)
- Li Zhongyuan, China (6)
- Marcus D’Almeida, Brazil (2)
Sjef says: “D’Almeida has been scoring very well despite the circumstances because it has not been easy by any stretch. Marcus is very much a contender, Li is a bit of an unknown but he has home field advantage as much as you can speak about that in archery. We have seen Chinese archers shoot well in Shanghai and getting all the support from the supporters, that’s a very powerful thing.”
“Then we have Steve versus Oh Jin Hyek, which should be interesting because Steve won over Mete Gazoz, reigning Olympic champion, and then beat Brady the top seed. Now he will have to beat another Olympic champion with lots of years of experience.”
Favourite? Oh Jin Hyek
Recurve women
- Kang Chae Young, Korea (1)
- An San, Korea (4)
- Choi Misun, Korea (3)
- Sihyeon Lim, Korea (10)
Sjef says: “Sihyeon Lim was my prediction at the beginning of the year for the season and I think I am sticking with it. She is going to show the more experienced archers of Korea that you don’t have to be over 20 to be on the top of the podium. I like to have an underdog story.”
The favourite? Sihyeon Lim
How to watch
Coverage of the second stage of the 2023 Hyundai Archery World Cup is being shown worldwide by broadcast partners. Check local listings on CCTV (China), Claro Sports (Latin America), Eleven (Chinese Taipei), Eurosport (Europe), Rai (Italy), SETIndia (Indian subcontinent), SpoTV (Korea and Southeast Asia) and TRT (Turkey).
The event is being streamed live by the Olympic Channel in other territories.
Compound finals will take place on Saturday 20 May and recurve finals on Sunday 21 May 2023.
