Competition begins at first African Championships since 2016

South African compounders Christian Beyers de Klerk (704) and Jeanine van Kradenburg (693) topped qualifying on the opening of competition at a home African Championships today.

Kenyan recurve woman Kuki Anwar (609) and Tunisian recurve man Mohamed Hammed (643) also took poles – as did Ahmed Galal Eldin of Sudan, who shot one point more than local archer Mark van Heerden to seed top in the first-ever barebow men’s event at the championships.

The tournament is taking place at the University of Pretoria.

This is the first time the African Championships have been held since 2016 – and the 12th in history. They last took place in Pretoria (in a split event with the Egyptian capital of Cairo) in 2010.

A total of 66 archers from 16 teams – Algeria, Chad, Cote d’Ivoire, Comoros, Egypt, Guinea, Kenya, Libya, Mauritius, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Sudan, Tunisia, Uganda and Zimbabwe – are taking part.

Among them are four para archers.

South African Paralympians Shaun Anderson (W1 men – 610), Adrian Miller (recurve men – 573) and Philip Coates-Palgrave (compound men – 648) are joined by Katelynn Venter of Namibia, a compound woman who shot 273 points at her first international event.

It is the first time para events have been included at the championships.

Competition continues with individual eliminations on Monday, team eliminations on Tuesday and finals on Wednesday.

Top seeds: 2022 African Championships

• Recurve men: Mohamed Hammed, Tunisia – 643
• Recurve women: Kuki Anwar, Kenya – 609
• Compound men: Christian Beyers de Klerk, South Africa – 704
• Compound women: Jeanine van Kradenburg, South Africa – 693
• Barebow men: Ahmed Galal Eldin, Sudan – 542