Turkish Olympians oust Korea in mixed pair semifinal in Shanghai

Rio 2016 Olympians Mete Gazoz and Yasemin Anagoz beat Choi Misun and Lee Woo Seok of Korea in the recurve mixed team semifinals to secure Turkey a spot in the gold medal match for the second year in a row in Shanghai.

“Last year we shot the gold final against Korea and we lost,” said Mete. “This time we beat them in the semifinals, so it’s like math, it’s our time now.”

Turkey won its three matches in four sets, 6-2, over Russia, Japan and Korea. Anagoz said trust between the pair, who have come up together on the international stage, was key in how they work together as a team.

“For us is not important to always shoot well because as athletes we can’t always be good, but when we are together it’s like magic, we get better,” she said.

“It feels like this because we have grown up together since we were both eight years old, so we are like a family, we trust each other, and we don’t judge each other when we don’t shoot well.”

Turkey has a strong final opponent in second seed Chinese Taipei, represented by Tang Chih-Chun and Tan Ya-Ting.

Taipei seeded second and didn’t lose a set in the eliminations. Tang and Tan first dispatched Bangladesh, 6-0, then Malaysia, 5-1, and lastly Great Britain, also 5-1.

World number two Ya-Ting said she was in charge.

“As I have more experience, I’m helping Tang to build his own shooting as well as our relationship as a team,” she explained.  “I want him to relax when shooting and to understand that it’s okay to shoot the yellow and, sometimes, it’s okay to miss, too.”

Korea and Great Britain will face each other for the mixed team bronze medal.

The second stage of the 2019 Hyundai Archery World Cup takes place in Shanghai, China on 6-12 May.