Birthday girl Mel CLARKE (GBR), as well as many others, put the crowd on their feet today at the archery stadium during the quarterfinals!
Today was the last day of quarterfinals. The recurve men and women standing categories and the compound men and women ones were on the field. Let’s remind the importance of the quarterfinals: a win gives the athletes two chances at a Paralympic medal!
World Archery had the pleasure to welcome a strong Finnish delegation led by the President of the State Sauli NIINISTÖ.
Here some commentaries from the field!
Recurve Women Standing
The No. 8 Javzmaa BYAMBASUREN (MGL) created the first upset of the day by taking out the No. 1 seed and current world champion GAO Fangxia (CHN), 6-0 (25-24, 24-21, 24-21). The No. 12 Magali COMTE (SUI) was on the way for another upset, when she led the No. 4 seed and Paralympic champion LEE Hwa Sook (KOR) 4-0. However the Korean came back strong in the last three sets (winning them 23-21, 30-26, 27-23) to enjoy the victory, 6-4.
The No. 3 seed YAN Hulian (CHN) was taking the home crowd favourite Sharon VENNARD (GBR) seeded No. 6. The Chinese athlete took the first set, 25-22. Both athletes started the second set with 7-9. However VENNARD finished with a 5 and YAN took a 4-0 lead in the match shooting an 8. There were some little gusts of wind and VENNARD started the third set with a 6. YAN was hardly better with a 7. Same thing with their respective second arrow, 6 and 7. VENNARD finished with an 8. YAN did not miss the opportunity to clinch a spot in the semifinal with another 8. Victory 6-0 for YAN.
The last quarterfinal of the morning session was played between the No. 2 seed Milena OLSZEWSKA (POL) and Irina BATOROVA (RUS) seeded No. 10. It was the lower seed, BATOROVA, who started better in this match taking a 4-0 lead. OLSZEWSKA cut her deficit to half in the third set, shooting 8-9-9. Then, the Polish followed up with 9-10-8 and tied the match at 4-4! OLSZEWSKA continued in good form when she opened the fifth set with a 10! On her side, BATOROVA lost pretty much all her chances when she scored a 3. OLSZEWSKA finished with 9-10, clinching the match 6-4. It was another come-back victory during the morning session!
Compound Women Open
The match every archery fan in Great Britain was waiting for today: the quarterfinal between Danielle BROWN (GBR) and Maria RUBIO LARRION (ESP)! RUBIO beat British archer Pippa BRITTON in the previous round.
BROWN had a fantastic start with 29 points in the first set and led 2-0. She had the opportunity to win the second set as well, but she finished it with an 8. The set ended tied at 26-26; BROWN led 3-1. The British athlete had again the chance to win the third set, but she finished with a 7 while the Spaniard had a 10. RUBIO won the third set 27-26 and tied the match at 3-3.
In the fourth set, BROWN started with 9-9. RUBIO with 9-10. BROWN finished with a 9. RUBIO with…an 8. Tied set and tied match, 4-4!
In the fifth, BROWN started with a 9. RUBIO had an 8. BROWN a 10! RUBIO a 9. BROWN finished with another 8! RUBIO could tie it with a 10… She shot a 9. BROWN and the crowd were relieved. The British star is going to medal matches!
The second British athlete of the afternoon session, Mel CLARKE (GBR) walked onto the field with another ovation. However, her opponent, Miho NAGANO (JPN) took the first set, 24-23. In the second set, CLARKE shot 9*-8-9 and NAGANO 9-8-9. After a closer look, the judge defined that the 9* was a 10 and CLARKE tied the match at 2-2.
CLARKE scored 8-9-8 in the third, but NAGANO had 8-9-10 to take a 4-2 lead. The British athlete came back strong in the fourth set with 9-10-10, while the Japanese scored 9-8-10. Tied match (4-4) and decisive fifth set! CLARKE started it with a 10! NAGANO had a 9! Mel had another quick 10! Miho another 10! CLARKE scored a last 10: perfect set and victory! NAGANO’s last 10 did not change anything. CLARKE offered herself a place in the semifinal for her 30th birthday! And the crowd went back on its feet singing a joyful: “Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you...”!
The two British athletes will meet two Russians in the semifinals. The No. 4 seed Marina LYZHNIKOVA (RUS) proved to be too strong for the No. 12 Gubin SU (TUR) 6-0 (27-17, 28-23, 27-25). The No. 2 seed Stepanida ARTAKHNIOVA (RUS) won none the less than three medals at the 2011 World Championships (silver in individuals, gold in teams and mixed teams). She confirmed her supremacy today, at least at the national level, beating her teammate Olga POLEGAEVA 6-0 (27-25, 29-28, 29-27).
