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Nespoli books spot for end-of-season finals as Lim’s unbeaten record rolls on

18 juin 2023

Medellin, Colombia

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Mauro Nespoli recurve men’s stage winner in Medellin.

Mauro Nespoli booked his place at the Hyundai Archery World Cup Final in September with a dramatic victory on a pulsating finals afternoon of recurve action in Medellin.

The stage three climax saw Italy’s European Games Champion snatch victory away from Kim Je Deok with a terrific 10 on his final arrow, but the Koreans did add another gold to their tally as Lim Sihyeon once again ruled supreme.

“I’m super happy with this result,” said Nespoli, a silver medallist in Medellin last year. “It was not my goal but I’m very happy and will now prepare for my next competition.”

Having beaten Brady Ellison via a shoot-off in the semifinals, the Italian archer provided even greater entertainment in the final, coming back from 3-1 down to tie the match at four each.

Kim needed a nine to take gold in the deciding set but instead shot a seven, with Nespoli taking full of advantage to become the latest archer to seal a spot at the World Cup finals in Hermosillo.

“Shooting 10s is always good,” he said. “The competition changed when Kim missed and I knew I had to shoot a 10.”

Unlike the final, the bronze medal match did go the way of Korea, with Lee Woo Seok coasting to a comfortable win over Ellison, who cut a frustrated figure as the wind wreaked havoc with his game.

Lim Sihyeon back-to-back Hyundai Archery World Cup stage winner.

In the women’s side, a nerve-shredding final saw Korea’s Lim extend her unbeaten run across two World Cup stages to win back-to-back golds.

She was pushed until the last by 16-year-old Angela Ruiz, who battled back from 4-0 down to force the contest to a shoot-off.

“Compared to Shanghai, in this competition I was quite used to shooting a shoot out because it was quite windy,” Lim said. “But I talked with my coach so I could get a good lead in these matches.”

Mexican Ruiz had the chance to complete a sensational comeback victory in the tie-breaker but could only shoot an eight, with Lim relieved to take victory following her nine.

“My arrow was at nine points so I worried about losing the game but it was lucky for me to win,” the Korean said.

Before that, she had difficulties seeing out victory in the semifinals too, letting a 4-0 lead over Jennifer Mucino-Fernandez slip to 5-3 before she eventually finished the job.

A delighted Mucino-Fernandez would go onto to take bronze however, and her first individual World Cup stage medal, with a win over German Michelle Kroppen.

“I’m beyond excited, I wasn’t expecting this,” the US archer said. “The semifinal was a good match even with the stress, all the adrenaline and nerves.”

“I managed to cool down, to relax and make it to the bronze match that was a little bit hard, but I was able to fix everything for the last set. ”

The recurve finals session closed competition in Medellin.