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First career top seed for Turkish compounder Emircan Haney in Berlin

1 August 2023

Berlin, Germany

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Emircan Haney successfully navigated challenging conditions on the opening day in Berlin.

Emircan Haney claimed his first career top seed spot on the opening day of the Berlin 2023 Hyundai Archery World Championships.

The 22-year-old recently earned European Games bronze in Krakow and made a superb start to the compound men’s competition in Berlin amid changeable conditions.

“I was in really good shape and had really good confidence before the start of the tournament,” he said. “The last two weeks we had really windy conditions in training in Türkiye and this really helped me to perform at this tournament.”

Three perfect ends in the first session saw him sat on 356 out of a possible 360 at the halfway stage and he finished on 709 (from a possible 720), and revealed perfect preparation was the key to a strong showing.

“I was expecting to have this kind of performance before the competition because my motivation was really good before the world championships,” Haney added. “I was expecting to shoot a round of 710 or 715 and that would be enough for top seed.”

World number one Mike Schloesser took second spot just before Polish surprise Przemyslaw Konecki, ranked 85th in the world, who qualified in third on 704, a point ahead of Kim Jongho and defending champion Nico Wiener.

“I was surprised,” Konecki said. “I was putting it to the back of my mind, I was not looking at the scores so I didn’t know how high I was. I felt that I was shooting well but I could do better.”

“The last two ends when the rain came were terrible, it felt like it was bad but they were coming to me saying I was first. I am very happy.”

Przybylski prevailed in a five-way shoot off for eighth, earning him qualification straight through to the third round, where he will also be joined by Ojas Pravin Deotale and Mathias Fullerton.

“With Lukas [Przybylski] and Rafal [Dobrowolski] we have a strong team,” Poland’s archer added. “Lukas has been shooting at a high level for years and he is a big inspiration for me, to beat him and be like him. This time we have a good chance in the team event but we will see.”

Mike Schloesser, Emircan Haney and Przemyslaw Konecki qualified in the compound men top three

Roberto Hernandez sat second at the halfway stage but ended as one of the quintet alongside Przybylski on 700 points.

“I am pretty happy with my shooting,” the archer from El Salvador said. “It was not easy conditions today. The two times I have shot here before was horrible, so I was a little nervous because of that.”

“I said I had to be mentally really strong and not care about the result. I felt really comfortable with that and it worked for me. Matches are a completely different game but I am confident I can do well.”

Australia’s Brandon Hawes was another involved in the shoot-off for eighth and was pleased to break new ground.

“I am happy, shooting a 700 – it’s the first time shooting a 700 internationally so I am grand,” he said. “This is my first year doing internationals and I have crept up slowly each time, but it has been a lot of training.”

“It is a lot of pressure but it is a great atmosphere, I love it. I have got to keep pushing, so I am trying not to think about it too much and just worry about my shots.”

Israel’s 18-year-old prospect Shamai Yamrom, meanwhile, qualified in 20th following a solid day’s shooting which saw him end on 696.

“I definitely expected more of myself but it is only qualification and I know what I am capable of for the rest of the week,” he said. “I am looking forward to the eliminations and teams. We have been preparing for this event the whole year and it feels good to finally be here.”

“I wish I could have done better today but the rest of the week is going to be the main event.”

Competition in Berlin continues with team eliminations on Wednesday.