First Asian Grand Prix: FURAKAWA strikes again

    
The event was opened under his Majesty’s Royal Patronage by the President of the National Olympic Committee of Thailand and Adviser to the Prime Minister, H.E General Yuthasak SASIPRAPHA, in the presence of the World Archery President, Prof. Dr Ugur ERDENER. The President of the National Archery Association of Thailand Sanguan KOSAVINTA (photo) welcomed the athletes during the opening ceremony and was a true host for all participants.
  
The Huamark Archery Field has become the reference venue in South-East Asia and the tournament keeps on growing. This year a new record participation of 244 athletes from 26 countries and 3 continents took part in the event. New countries included Egypt and Belgium. There were 127 men and 117 women participating, which created some challenges to host the competition on a field that fits a maximum of 32 targets. The event was held in a professional manner and the organization level is growing year by year.
 
The shooting conditions were quite good overall. However, the high temperatures were challenging for athletes coming from countries where it's still winter. The wind was not very strong but was changing and sometimes difficult to read, especially in the middle of the field. 
  Recurve Archery  
Takaharu FURUKAWA showed why he is the Olympic silver medallist by winning the individual and mixed team gold medal at the first major outdoor competition of the year. He clinched gold by shooting a perfect end to gain the final set point against Rahul BANERJEE from India who also had an excellent tournament.
  
In the recurve mixed team event, FURUKAWA’s team mate Kaori KAWANAKA, an Olympic team bronze medallist, shot some impressive arrows in the gold medal final, destroying the hopes of the Russian duo.
  
The recurve women individual gold medal went to Ika Yuliana ROCHMAWATI from Indonesia, who will be an athlete to watch during the season. The Indonesian team has shown great progress and could be the surprise of the upcoming season. 
     Compound Archery   
The competition ended with some very exciting compound finals. Especially the mixed team gold medal match between Malaysia and Vietnam was tied after the 16 arrows and required a tie-break. Both teams shot the maximum 20 points, but Malaysia, with their best arrow right in the bull's eye, emerged as the winner.
 
As a result of the inclusion of comopund archery in the Asian Games, the level and participation of Asian Member Associations in compound archery is increasing every year. Athletes from countries such as Chinese Taipei, Kazakhstan, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam are making significant progress and could become key players in compound archery very soon.
  
For the compound division, the First Asian Grand Prix was also the last qualifying event for the World Games in Cali. On the men's side, India, Vietnam and Thailand won a quota place each, while the three compound women berths went to Chinese Taipei (two places) and Malaysia. 
          RECURVE ARCHERY COMPOUND ARCHERY MEN'S INDIVIDUAL

1. FURUKAWA Takaharu (JPN)

1. CHITTIBOMMA Jignas (IND)  2. BANERJEE Rahul (IND) 2. HE Ying (CHN) 3. DAS Atanu (IND) 3. SHIMADA Takayuki (JPN) WOMEN'S INDIVIDUAL 1. ROCHMAWATI Ika Yuliana (INA) 1. THREESYADINDA Dellie (INA) 2. HAYASHI Yuki (JPN) 2. KUMARI Anjali (IND) 3. LAISHRAM Bombayla Devi (IND) 3. WEN Ning-Meng (TPE) MEN'S TEAM 1. Malaysia 1. India 2. Japan 2. Vietnam 3. India 3. Indonesia WOMEN'S TEAM 1. Japan 1. Malaysia 2. China 2. Thailand 3. Indonesia 3. Chinese Taipei MIXED TEAM 1. Japan 1. Malaysia 2. Russia 2. Vietnam   3. India 3. Kazakhstan        Complete results of the First Asian Grand Prix can be found here.        World Archery Communication