Nicolas Girard ended his outdoors drought to win the compound men’s individual event at the stage three of the 2025 Hyundai Archery World Cup in Antalya, Türkiye.
The Frenchman edged USA’s Nick Kappers 157-154, securing his first outdoor international solo medal since finishing silver at the Tlaxcala 2022 Hyundai Archery World Cup Final. Girard shot impressively, with only one arrow outside the 10-ring – hitting eight 11s and six 10s.
Girard took the lead early, edging ahead 62-61 after the second end and never relinquishing it. His laser-focused shooting left Kappers a slim chance only when the American’s penultimate arrow scored nine. Visibly gutted, Kappers failed to apply pressure in the final end, scoring two 10s and an 11, while Girard sealed the match with an 11 to tie the fifth end 31-31.
“For once, it’s pretty good,” said Girard, 2022 Indoor Archery World Serie Finals champion. “I’m happy, it’s been a while now. I’ve had some difficulties over the last few years, especially outdoors. I trained well indoors to be able to reach a decent enough level to get there.”
“The penultimate arrow is always the hardest for me and well, I’m shaking a little,” he admitted, when asked about the nine. “I made another good one, but it’s part of the game, that’s how it is.”
Girard’s 28th seeding from Wednesday’s 60-arrow qualification reflected his reputation as an indoor specialist.
Since Tlaxcala 2022, the 25-year-old has earned four medals annually in the Indoor World Series, with podiums in Nimes, Lausanne and Strassen, and silver at this year’s Vegas Shoot and Indoor World Series. He is also the reigning European Indoor Champion.
Perhaps Girard has been a maestro indoors over the past four seasons, but his performance outdoors in the scorching temperatures at Antalya Beach Park has earned him a ticket to the Nanjing World Cup Final in October – the pinnacle of archery’s premier circuit.
“I think it was a success this week,” Girard said. “It’s true that I had a little difficulty with the qualifiers, but I was able to refocus on the essentials and that allowed me to get this far.”
