Amaistroaie headlines five last winners of women’s Olympic quotas

Romania’s Madalina Amaistroaie won the recurve women’s final qualifier for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics as five countries booked the last individual quota places for the upcoming Games in Paris, France.

Greece, Poland, the Czech Republic and Mongolia, plus Romania, now have a spot on the women’s range in Japan.

Amaistroaie was the highest-ranked woman without a quota arriving at these championships – and no Romanian woman had ever qualified for the Olympics before. (Although in the pre-quota era, most recently at Moscow 1980, they did compete.)

It was a four-set upset of top seed Magdalena Smialkowska in the quarterfinals that changed that.

“I’m so happy I can’t even believe it,” the 18-year-old said. “Who doesn’t want to go to the Olympic Games? Now that I’m going, what dream do I have now?”

She went on to beat another Polish archer, Sylwia Zyzanska, in the final.

Eight women entered the arena for the quarterfinals – and each of the winners, including both Amaistroaie and Zyzanska, qualified quota places for the nations.

Evangelia Psarra won Greece’s quota in the first match of the session and booked a ticket to her sixth Olympics. (If she is ultimately chosen to compete in Tokyo.)

The 6-4 result of the last quarterfinal between Marie Horackova and Urantungalag Bishindee delivered quota places for both the Czech Republic and Mongolia, with the latter being the highest-ranked loser and a fifth spot reserved in the pool.

Horackova won a bid for her country outright with her victory, while Bishindee took the last remaining ticket as the loser with the most set points.

These women’s places were the last Olympic quotas available to win in competition.

The last five: Women’s qualifiers for Tokyo 2020

Places are won for a nation; the archer who wins the place will not necessarily compete at the Olympics.

•  Czech Republic
•  Greece
• Mongolia
• Poland
•  Romania