Lausanne 2014: compound men’s competition preview

Preview the Lausanne 2014 Archery World Cup Final in the lead up to competition on 6/7 September.

Categories: compound women, recurve women, recurve men, mixed team

Qualification story

Rajat CHAUHAN and Alexander DAMBAEV – seeded seventh and eighth in the World Cup Rankings, respectively – secured their spots at the season’s last stage in Wroclaw. DAMBAEV replaced CHOI Yong Hee – Korea’s first-ever individual men’s stage winner in the division at the Final.

CHOI’s training for the Incheon Asian Games, which are the very reason the Korean squad began sending compound archers to international competitions at the start of last year.

Sergio PAGNI, the only compound archer to win back-to-back World Cup Finals, nearly climbed high enough to make this Final. He ended the year in ninth, one spot out of an invitation.

Defending champion

Denmark’s Martin DAMSBO won his first international individual title since 2010 at Paris last year. Four years ago, he took Antalya World Cup stage gold – but last year he became World Cup Champion.

He beat the USA’s Braden GELLENTHIEN in a shoot-off for the title.

Neither he nor Braden return to the Final in 2014. DAMSBO didn’t start fast this season and GELLENTHIEN lagged behind teammates WILDE and DEATON after the first couple of stages. (Only two athletes from any one nation can qualify for the Final.)

First round matches

Match one: Reo WILDE (USA) versus Kevin BURRI (SUI)

Possibly the most successful – most decorated – archer on the World Cup circuit against Switzerland’s compound men’s representative.

BURRI’s got plenty of international experience. Actually, he shot his first World Cup stage back in 2007. He made the top 32 three times as a senior between then and 2010, but never since.

Still, this match-up should be one-sided.

Advantage: WILDE

Match two: Bridger DEATON (USA) versus Sebastien PEINEAU (FRA)

USA newbie DEATON’s proven no amateur in 2014. Outshooting former World Cup Champion teammate and last year’s World Cup Final gold medal competitor Braden GELLENTHIEN, he’s also shooting in the States’ mixed team at Lausanne.

The USA beat out France at Wroclaw to shoot in the event’s mixed team match. DEATON takes on France’s Seb PEINEAU in his first individual match… and Seb’s the current Indoor Archery World Cup title holder.

Advantage: PEINEAU

Match three: PJ DELOCHE (FRA) versus Rajat CHAUHAN (IND)

Knowing he needed a big finish at Wroclaw to secure his Lausanne invitation, Rajat was pacing around the back of the eliminations field after he got knocked out in the fourth round.

DELOCHE won the event.

And he’s world number one.

Difficult to bet against.

Advantage: DELOCHE

Match four: Alexander DAMBAEV (RUS) versus Peter ELZINGA (NED)

Russia’s DAMBAEV has come third at both Wroclaw Archery World Cup stages (2013 and 2014). He was world student champion back in 2011.

ELZINGA won Medellin this season.

As competitors they are quite the opposite. Alexander’s reserved whereas Peter is one of the most expressive athletes on the circuit. If he wins, expect Peter to give one of his trademark fist-pump-come-screams.

Advantage: ELZINGA

Storyline in short

With the States and France holding half the Lausanne competitor spots, and a predictable storyline of a Americas–European final showdown, the real intrigue comes from the other four archers.

Peter ELZINGA’s ridiculously good, and deserves a World Cup Final win as much as anyone. DAMBAEV’s young, and a bit of an unknown – and Rajat CHAUHAN is India’s only representative at this year’s event.

Then there’s Kevin BURRI. He has plenty of international experience, but no international results – and nothing to lose.

If one of them can make headway: that’s the storyline.

Predicting the final: PEINEAU versus DELOCHE?

Shanghai opened the season with an all-France compound men’s gold medal match, featuring this pair of heavyweights. DELOCHE led PEINEAU through the first few ends – but things went sour for the world number one.

He shot a bad back end, and PEINEAU won the stage.

It would be poetic, after DELOCHE’s return to World Cup finals – and picking up gold – in Wroclaw, for PJ to have another shot at beating his French teammate.

It would be a loaded final – and great to watch…

The 2014 Archery World Cup Final is on Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 September. Compound competition is on the first day and recurve on the second. Read news, buy tickets and follow World Archery’s coverage on Facebook and @worldarchery on Twitter.

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