Preview: Paris preparing for 350+ and largest stage of the season so far
The international circuit returns for the third of its four stages in the 2022 season next week in Paris.
The French capital, synonymous these days with being the next host of the Olympic Games, has lined up a suitably dramatic venue to host the finals of the event, the historic Chateau de Vincennes in the east of the city. But will we see any archers from France step out in front of the cameras?
If anyone, it’s likely to be the host’s compound men’s team after back-to-back silvers (both to India) to start the season – or the experienced Sophie Dodemont, a former Olympian and now long-time compound international, who was runner-up at the Europeans last week. France’s recurvers haven’t been contesting podiums of late – but they’ve got two years to rectify that situation.
Absent from the event is Sara Lopez, the six-time Hyundai Archery World Cup Champion who is yet to qualify for this year’s grand finale, and Mexico.
A full squad from Korea, appearing on the circuit outside their own country for the first time since 2019, will be on the line, while Paris will also mark the welcome return of Indian recurve superstar Deepika Kumari, who won last year in Paris, and her compound teammate world number three Jyothi Surekha Vennam (although there is some doubt about whether she will turn up).
Neither made the Indian team at the start of the year but appear to have been rotated in, likely tasked with sparking some results for the women’s squads for the side.
Key information
What’s happening? The third stage of the Hyundai Archery World Cup on 21-26 June 2022 in Paris, France.
Where is it? Qualification and eliminations are taking place at Charlety Stadium while finals will be shot in an arena at Chateau de Vincennes.
What’s at stake? Stage winners automatically book a ticket for the Hyundai Archery World Cup Final in October.
What’s the story? Nearly 18 months after the lost year due to the pandemic, the entry list is starting to resemble normality, with just China remaining as the only regular competitor still absent from the international tour. The entry lists for the Hyundai Archery World Cup Final are beginning to take shape and Paris marks the penultimate chance to qualify, with just Medellin, in July, left beyond.
Event schedule
- Tuesday 21 June: Compound qualifying
- Wednesday 22 June: Recurve qualifying
- Thursday 23 June: Compound eliminations
- Friday 24 June: Recurve eliminations
- Saturday 25 June: Compound finals (morning – teams, afternoon – final fours)
- Sunday 26 June: Recurve finals (morning – teams, afternoon – final fours)
How to watch
Coverage of the third stage of the 2022 Hyundai Archery World Cup is being shown worldwide by broadcast partners. Check local listings on France TV and L’Equipe (France), CCTV (China), Claro Sports (Latin America), Eleven (Chinese Taipei), Eurosport (Europe), SpoTV (Korea and Southeast Asia), SETIndia (Indian subcontinent) and TRT (Turkey).
The event is being streamed live by the Olympic Channel in other territories.
Live scores will be available on the World Archery website, and there will be coverage on World Archery’s digital platforms throughout the competition.
Hot hands
Performance in archery, like most sports, comes in peaks and troughs. Those at the top of their game tend to stay at the top of their game – for a while – before the landscape rotates and another takes the spotlight. Those with a hot hand can ride it to results – so who’s peaking in 2022?
Stage two of the international tour was Korea-centric, sure, since we hadn’t seen them on the world circuit for a little while.
But there are two archers, neither from Korea, who have proven winners at each major event so far this season. Miguel Alvarino, the recurve man from Spain, won the season opener, took bronze at stage two and then became European Champion last week. Mike Schloesser won in Antalya, Gwangju and the Europeans – and has currently strung together 19 winning matches on the world outdoor stage. (His last loss was the final at the Hyundai World Archery Championships in 2021.)
Both arrive in Paris ranked number one in the world – Alvarino for the first time in his career.
Final tracker
Arriving in Paris, the following archers are already qualified for the 2022 Hyundai Archery World Cup Final in Tlaxcala:
- Recurve men: Miguel Alvarino, Spain (stage winner); Kim Woojin, Korea (stage winner)
- Recurve women: Bryony Pitman, Great Britain (stage winner); Choi Misun, Korea (stage winner)
- Compound men: Mike Schloesser, Netherlands (stage winner)
- Compound women: Ella Gibson, Great Britain (stage winner); Kim Yunhee, Korea (stage winner)
Who’s competing?
These were the winners of the last year’s stage of the Hyundai Archery World Cup held in Paris:
- Recurve men: Brady Ellison, USA
- Recurve women: Deepika Kumari, India
- Compound men: Abhishek Verma, India
- Compound women: Sara Lopez, Colombia (not competing)
These are the archers ranked highest in the world who are competing at the third stage of the 2022 Hyundai Archery World Cup:
- Recurve men: Miguel Alvarino Garcia, Spain (world rank: 1)
- Recurve women: An San, Korea (world rank: 1)
- Compound men: Mike Schloesser, Netherlands (world rank: 1)
- Compound women: Jyothi Surekha Vennam, India (world rank: 3)
A total of 360 athletes (212 men, 148 women) from the national teams of the following 51 countries are registered to compete at the tournament: Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chinese Taipei, Cote d’Ivoire, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Faroe Islands, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hong Kong China, India, Indonesia, Iceland, Iran, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Latvia, Luxembourg, Moldova, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovenia, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, the US Virgin Islands and the USA.
Competition at the third stage of the 2022 Hyundai Archery World Cup starts with compound qualification on Tuesday.
