The events come thick and fast in 2019. Stage one of the international circuit in Medellin finished only a handful of days ago and we’re already in Shanghai for the second leg. It’ll be like this – one week on, one week off – until after the worlds in June.
The gruelling calendar means some teams have chosen to attend two of these first three events (Medellin, Shanghai and Antalya). Korea, for example, is doing one and two; Colombia, one and three – but the Netherland’s top recurve men are doing the lot.
Sara Lopez, Mike Schloesser, Kang Chae Young and Brady Ellison are already qualified for the 2019 Hyundai Archery World Cup Final having won in Medellin. Up to four more archers will join them after the medal matches in Shanghai.
Factsheet: Shanghai 2019
- Venues: Yuanshen stadium (qualifications) and Lujiazui Park (finals) in Pudong
- Dates: 6-12 May 2019
- Number of athletes: 295 from 38 countries (99 recurve men, 76 recurve women, 65 compound men, 55 compound women)
- Where to watch: Live on World Archery’s Facebook and YouTube platforms (except USA and Indian sub-continent), Olympic Channel, NBC Olympic Channel (USA) on cable, Claro Sports (Latin America), CCTV (China), Sony (Indian sub-continent), Eleven (Chinese Taipei), Eurosport and more. Check local listings.
Schedule
- Tuesday 7 May: Compound and recurve qualification
- Wednesday 8 May: Early round individual eliminations
- Thursday 9 May: Individual and team eliminations
- Friday 10 May: Mixed team eliminations
- Saturday 11 May: Compound finals
- Sunday 12 May: Recurve finals
Defending stage winners
These are the results from the first stage of the 2018 Hyundai Archery World Cup in Shanghai, China.
Individual
- Recurve men: Kim Woojin, Korea
- Recurve women: Chang Hye Jin, Korea
- Compound men: Kim Jongho, Korea
- Compound women: Sara Lopez, Colombia (not returning)
Team
- Recurve men: Korea
- Recurve women: Korea
- Recurve mixed: Korea
- Compound men: USA
- Compound women: Russia (not returning – only two entered)
- Compound mixed: Denmark (not returning – no man entered)
5 things to know
1. Season openers. Medellin was our season opener, but some top teams skipped it for Shanghai – making stage two theirs. Chinese Taipei, Iran, Malaysia, Russia and Turkey are among the teams beginning their competition schedule here.
For the first time in 10 years, China will have a compound team at an event of the Hyundai Archery World Cup. It previously had compound archers at the Shanghai stages in 2006 and 2009.
2. Mete magic. Last month, days after Sjef van den Berg became the first European archer to break 690 in qualifying, Mete shot 698 to set a new junior world record and the highest competition score outside of the Olympics.
He, Brady Ellison (692), Kim Woojin (692), Lee Seungyun (692) and Sjef (691) are the top scorers so far this season. This is the first – and last – time before the worlds we’ll have them on the same field.
3. Repeat winners. Two of the winners of the first stage of the international circuit return for event number two.
If either of Brady Ellison or Kang Chae Young takes a second gold medal in Shanghai, the automatic places for the final they would receive – if they didn’t already have them – do not go to the second-place finisher but are opened up for points qualifiers at the end of the year.
4. Olympian and Paralympian. Zahra Nemati is shooting for Iran in Shanghai. The two-time Paralympic Champion shot at the Olympics in Rio, too. Her inclusion is likely a sign she’s looking to repeat that feat in Tokyo.
5. Indian squad. After the travel issues that prevented India’s top team from attending Medellin, the squad appears to have stuck to its original plan – and will send its reserves to Shanghai.
They include world youth team champion Ankita Bhakat and Gurwinder Singh, who shot at the last world championships.
Weather forecast
We’re expecting the week to be cooler in Shanghai, before the finals rise to the mid-20s the event is used to at this time of year. It should be almost rain-free, making for conditions likely to yield big scores – and any let-off on the high shooting level in Medellin very unlikely.
Forecast via Accuweather on 4 May.
The second stage of the 2019 Hyundai Archery World Cup takes place in Shanghai, China on 6-12 May.
