Mexico, USA and Denmark win compound team titles in Guatemala City
The USA’s women, Mexican men and Denmark’s mixed pair won the compound team titles on Saturday morning at the first stage of the 2021 Hyundai Archery World Cup in Guatemala City.
Mexico featured in all three gold medal matches – finding success in one.
Antonio Hidalgo, Miguel Becerra and Uriel Olvera defeated Colombia’s Daniel Munoz, Juan Fernando Bonilla and Gomez Zuluaga Pablo, 230-227, to complete Mexico’s journey from the third seed to the top of the podium. The match was tight until the last, the Mexican trio needing a 59 to close out the win.
“Despite having some wind, we worked hard from the start to dominate the match all way through,” said Becerra.
“We’re very happy with the result,” Hidalgo said. “We’ve been working hard all week.”
Former Mexican archer Linda Ochoa-Anderson, representing the USA for the first time at an international event, proved key for her new team against her former in the compound women’s team final.
Ochoa-Anderson, Paige Pearce and Alexis Ruiz comfortably beat Andrea Becerra, Esmeralda Sanchez and Margarita Valencia, 229-223, to claim gold.
“It was great,” Linda said of winning her first medal for the USA against her former team.
“Definitely, I feel like it was a little bit hard, especially after not shooting for this long and then shooting against Mexico. I have great teammates, and they were shooting really good. It feels really good.”
Seeded first after qualification and the top-ranked team in the world, the USA was in control from start to finish as it shot with poise and certainty at the Sport Complex Los Arcos in Guatemala City.
“We just worked so well together yesterday,” said Pearce of the elimination rounds. “It was really smooth, and I was pretty confident we were going to go out there and do the same.”
World number one Ruiz will look to win a second gold medal later today in the individual final fours. She faces Colombia’s Nora Valdez in the semifinals.
Denmark showed no signs of pandemic-induced rust in the compound mixed team gold medal match.
Stephan Hansen and Tanja Gellenthien flirted with perfection for much of regulation, shooting only 10s through the first three ends. A pair of nines to close was more disappointing for the viewers hoping for a perfect – than it was a glimmer of hope for Mexico’s Andrea Becerra and Antonio Hidalgo. Denmark won gold, 158-156.
“I think we wanted to make it interesting, have a bit of excitement at the end,” Gellenthien said. “I’m really happy with how many 10s we shot, how well we did. We finished well, and that’s all that matters.”
The Netherlands beat the hosts Guatemala in the mixed team bronze medal match.
Bronze medals in the compound team competitions were awarded on Friday on the eliminations field. The USA took third in the men’s event and Colombia bronze in the women’s.
The compound competition concludes with individual finals on Saturday at the first stage of the 2021 Hyundai Archery World Cup in Guatemala City.
