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Five World Para Championships titles were awarded today in Bangkok. The compound men’s W1, men’s and women’s open finalists battled for crowns - and the men’s and women’s teams shot their bronze and gold medal contests.
Compound men W1 – Individual final
London 2012 Paralympic Champion Jeff FABRY (USA) and Jean-Pierre ANTONIOS (FIN) contested compound men’s W1 gold in the first match of the day. The American took the initial lead, 56-52 after six arrows - but with one end to go, ANTONIOS (photo) had closed the gap to just a point: 106-105. The Finnish archer calmly and methodically shot 10-10-9 with his last three arrows, while FABRY could only manage three 9s! Victory for ANTONIOS, 134-133 - and the first gold medal of his career, after he won bronze in 2011.
Compound women open - Individual final
Burcu DAG challenged two-time Paralympic Champion Danielle BROWN (GBR) in the compound women’s open final, who was looking to defend the world title she won at Turin in 2011. DAG struck first, and took an early lead, 28-25. It was an advantage she would maintain throughout the match, until the last three arrows. A disappointing 24-point finish from the Turk let BROWN draw the match and force a shoot-off. BROWN shot her arrow first, and scored a 9. DAG’s soon followed... 9 as well, but closer to the middle of the target! Victory and the gold medal went to DAG. Is there a better way to end up with a first world championship participation? DAG will go for her second tomorrow, when she meets BROWN again in the final of the mixed team event.
Compound men open – Individual final
John STUBBS (main photo) looked to improve on the compound men’s open silver medal he won in Turin at the 2011 World Para Archery Championships. Standing in his way: 2012 Paralympic Champion from Finland, Jere FORSBERG. STUBBS started the match with a perfect 30, to take an early one-point lead. His advantage doubled after six arrows, 58-56 - but FORSBERG took the third end, recovering one point to 84-85. Ignoring the pressure, STUBBS pressed ahead - and eventually took victory, and his first World Championships title, 142-140.
Compound women open – Teams
Iran’s compound women fell behind Japan early in their Asian bronze medal encounter. Somajeh ABBASPOUR, Farzaneh ASGARI and Seyedehzahra HOSSEINI found themselves 48-55 down after six arrows, and 94-108 behind after 12. It was a deficit they could not recover from. The Japanese team of Nako HIRASAWA, Chieko NAMIYA and Miho NAGO increased their lead until the final arrow, and took bronze by a 14-point margin: 213-199.
Defending world champions Stepanida ARTAKHINOVA, Marina LYZHIKOVA and Olga POLEGAEVA (photo) against Martha CHAVEZ, Arce HESS and Ashlee SHEPPARD – meaning Russia against the United States for compound women’s open team gold. The four point lead that the Russians took in the first end make their intentions clear. The USA trio cut Russia’s lead down to a point over the second end - but their match went downhill after that. Trailing 154-160 by the time 18 arrows had been shot, a miss in the last end destroyed any hope of a Team USA comeback. Russia won the contest 214-197, and the team successfully retained their world champion crown.
Compound men open – Teams
Slovakia, attempting to claim its first Para World Championships medal in the compound division, had to beat the experienced United States. States team Jeff FABRY, Jeff SENA and Lance THORNTON took a quick 57-54 lead after six arrows. It would not last long, though: Slovakia tied the match, 109-all, at the halfway point. Neck and neck until the end, they needed a 10 with their last arrow to win. It was a 9, sending the match to a shoot-off. Not shaken, Peter KASCAK, Marian MARECAK and Marcel PAVLIK scored 27 to the USA’s 26, and took the bronze medal.
Shooting in his second final of the day, John STUBBS joined British teammates Richard HENNAHANE and Frank MAGUIRE to face Matteo BONACINA, Gianpaolo CANCELLI and Alberto SIMONELLI from Italy. One end in, the Brits trailed by a point - 55-56 - but recovered to take a 114-111 lead after 12 arrows. The gap increased to 171-161 before a last push from the Italians - including three 10s to end the match - made an unlikely Italian victory possible... but hopes of that were quickly squashed! STUBBS needed a 9 with Great Britain’s final arrow to secure the win, and he shot a 10. Victory and World Champion title for Great Britain, 227-225 - which was the second of the day for John STUBBS, and a successful defence of the title he and HENNAHENE won in 2011. STUBBS will still have a shot for gold tomorrow, associated to Danielle BROWN in the mixed team final.
Check back tomorrow for the last day of competition at the 2013 World Para Championships in Bangkok, and finals in the compound and recurve mixed team, recurve team and individual competitions.
World Archery Communication
