Arreola and Verma crowned compound masters of Medellin

Liko Arreola became the youngest ever archer to win gold at the Hyundai Archery World Cup after a dramatic shoot-off victory against Sara Lopez at the third stage in Medellin.

In the men’s side, Abhishek Verma took gold ahead of defending stage winner James Lutz in what was the Indian’s first event of 2023.

International debutant Arreola and the legendary Lopez could not be separated after five regulation ends in the compound women’s gold medal match, with the scores tied at 145 each.

The Colombian, who had earlier shot a loose seven in the third round, shot a nine in the tie-breaker before her 15-year-old opponent went one better for a magical and momentous victory in Medellin.

“I was so nervous the whole way and I tried not to give up and did the best I could but it was nerve-wracking,” said Arreola, who had earlier tasted victory in the compound women’s team event.

“I still felt nervous [in the shoot-off] as I could have also shot a nine but I trusted my shot, and did the best I could and let it up to 10.”

In the bronze medal match, Sarah Prieels overcame Alexis Ruiz and a significant twitch to claim just her second World Cup stage medal after Shanghai in 2017.

“At the last arrow my bow was shaking a lot, I was shaking too,” said Prieels. “But I managed to fit the arrow close enough to the middle.”

Men’s winner Verma was first onto the range in the semifinals and strolled past Luccas Abreu with an assured five-point victory to set up a third individual World Cup stage final.

He would have been fearing the worst when USA’s Lutz delivered a perfect score of 150 to beat countryman Nick Kappers.

But Verma kept his cool to strike gold and ensure he joins Prathamesh Samadhan Jawkar at September’s Hyundai Archery World Cup Final in Mexico, after the teenage sensation topped the rostrum in Shanghai. 

“I’m very happy, I was remembering the good old days,” said Verma. “I’m excited and looking forward to the Final.” 

Lutz remained upbeat despite the narrow defeat, praising compatriot Arreola in her first World Cup not even 16, teammate Kappers and the wider USA team for their efforts across the week.

“It hurts, but you know it’s archery, anything can happen, I just made a bad shot,” he said. “USA compound is looking the strongest ever right now and I’m super excited for the future.”

Competition continues with recurve team finals on Sunday in Shanghai.

Podiums: Medellin 2023

Check full results on the World Archery website.

Compound women

1.  Liko Arreola, USA
2.  Sara Lopez, Colombia
3.  Sarah Prieels, Belgium

Compound men

1.  Abhishek Verma, India
2.  James Lutz, USA
3.  Nick Kappers, USA