Recent history suggested that it was little surprise Becerra and Gibson would battle for the top seed, but hardly anyone expected India’s Madhura Dhamangaonkar to follow in third place.
Shanghai marks Madhura’s second World Cup appearance, her last being Medellin 2022, when she last competed outside of India. The 24-year-old was unsurprisingly buzzing with the result after the final end.
“Because of my mental health,” Madhura responded when asked about her personal best of 708. “My mental was so strong today. and I’m working on that. That’s thanks to my confidence the support from my coach and my psychologist.”
On the compound men’s side of things, it was business as usual for world number one Mike Schloesser.
Known as ‘Mister Perfect’. the Dutchman dropped an astonishing 37 Xs, making him one of two archers to shoot over 50 per cent of their arrows into the spider during the day. India’s Rishabh Yadav.
Schloesser’s 714 score tied with former Asian Champion Kim Jongho of Korea and GT Open silver medallist Abhishek Verma of India, topping the list of 65 archers from 26 nations (with 64 qualifying for matches).
“This was a walk in the park compared to Florida, where it was a bit more windy,” commented the four-time Hyundai Archery World Cup Final victor.
“Stadiums are always a little bit tricky because the wind changes up a little bit, sometimes left, sometimes right. The speed of the changes varies, but other than that, it was an awesome day of shooting, and I’m really stoked about it.”
Action in Shanghai continues tomorrow, with the compound team elimination matches in the morning, followed by recurve qualifications in the afternoon.
