Reo geared up for the 2013 season by coming out on top in the battle of the Wilde brothers to take the spoils at the first stage of the Indoor Archery World Cup in Singapore. Reo and Logan Wilde made sure it was not only an all-USA compound final, but also a family affair, after dominating the rankings all weekend. 16-year-old Danelle Wentzel saw off fellow South African Gerda Roux to win the women’s compound, her first major tournament win, while France’s Celine Bezault took the gold medal in the women’s recurve. 2012 World Field champion Jean- Charles Valladont completed a French double by taking gold in the men’s recurve, defeating home favourite Tan Silie.
Only Norway’s Morten Boe could separate the Wilde brothers as they got off to a flying start in the compound qualifiers. Reo was determined to put the disappointment of losing out to Braden Gellenthien in September’s World Cup Final behind him, and his qualifying score of 594 was a sign of things to come. His form en route to the final was solid, with wins over Abhishek Verma (6-0) and Hermann Roux (7-1) before a 6-0 semi-final win over Australia’s Patrick Coghlan. Logan’s progress was equally impressive, with his biggest win coming against Boe, who he defeated 7-3 in the last four.
Logan came into the competition on the back of victory at the Salt Lake Open, and he took the first set of the final – the only set Reo lost in the entire tournament. Reo fought back though, winning the second set before a 29-29 third set tied the match at 3-3. Reo got his nose in front as he took the fourth, and victory was secured when he shot a solid 30 to complete a 6-4 victory.
Boe won the bronze medal with a 7-3 victory over Patrick Coghlan. The Norwegian secured the first set 29-28 but Coghlan hit back with a perfect 30 for 2-2. Boe retook the lead with a 30 of his own, and a split fourth set took him to within one set of victory. Coghlan needed to win to force a shoot-off, but Morten Boe won 29-28 to secure third place.
In the compound women’s category, Danelle Wentzel led from the front, topping the rankings in qualifying on her way to the final. The semi-final line-up included defending Indoor World Cup champion Joanna Chesse of France, but she went down 6-5 to Wentzel in a thrilling semi-final. The Frenchwoman refused to relinquish her crown lightly as she went down 10-9 in the shoot-off.
In the other semi, rookie Gerda Roux, competing in her first international tournament, whitewashed Joann Tabanag of the Philippines after earlier 6-0 victories over Melinda Steinmann and Singapore’s Alexiel Pei Yun Goh. The tables were turned on Roux in the final though, as Wentzel won 30-28, 30-28 and 29-28 to complete a fine win in just three sets.
In the bronze medal match, Joanna Chesse came out on top, despite losing the first set 29-27 to Tabanag. She fought back with a 29 of her own to tie the match before a 29- apiece set levelled the score at 3-3. Chesse went ahead for the first time with a 28-25 win in the fourth set and she completed the victory with a 27-27 scoreline to win the match 6-4.
Jean-Charles Valladont sent the partisan crowd home disappointed after beating Singapore’s Tan Silie in the men’s recurve final. Chinese Taipei’s Shu Chieh Chang led the way in qualifying, closely followed by Jake Kaminski from the USA, with Valladont third. Chang’s run was brought to an end in the quarter-finals when he lost 6-2 to eventual bronze medallist Denis Gankin from Kazakhstan.
Gankin lost out to Silie in a thrilling semi- final, in which Tan needed two shoot-offs to progress to the final. Both men shot a 10 in the second shoot-off after 9s in the first, but Tan’s arrow was closer, sending him into the final by the narrowest of margins. Gankin gained a revenge of sorts by claiming the bronze with a shoot-out victory against Kaminski to record a 6-5 win. In the final, Valladont took a 2-0 lead with an early 30 but, backed up by the home crowd, Tan levelled the match with a 30 of his own. The third set was tied, but the Frenchman won the final two sets to claim a 7-3 victory.
Celine Bezault came out on top in an all- French final in the women’s recurve category. The two finalists were on a collision course from the moment they qualified first and second – Berengere Schuh’s 580 earning her the top ranking spot going into the knockout stage.
After serene progress to the semi-final Schuh met Dilani Peiris, but the Sri Lankan was no match for her opponent, and Schuh sealed her place in the final with a 6-0 win. Bezault wasn’t to be outdone by her compatriot, who she has met in competition before, and she set up an all-Gaul final with a 6-0 victory over Kazakhstani competitor Victoriya Beloslyuntseva. The latter did go home with the bronze though, thanks to a 7-1 victory over Peiris.
As expected, the final was a much tighter affair. Schuh took the first set with 30, but Jean-Charles Valladont followed his World Field Championship win with a win in men’s recurve in Singapore
Bezault won the second with 30 points of her own. The third set saw both archers tied on 30 points each and two further level sets took the match to a decisive shoot-out. Incredibly, Schuh hit a perfect X10, only for Bezault to match the feat. At closer inspection Bezault’s arrow was closer to the centre, earning her the title.
The second stage of the Indoor World Cup takes place in Nîmes, France, on 18- 20 January. There will then be a final stage followed by the World Cup final itself in Las Vegas starting on 8 February, accompanying the famous Vegas shoot.
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RESULTS |
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Rank |
1 |
2 |
3 |
|
Men’s Compound |
Reo Wilde (USA) |
Logan Wilde (USA) |
Morten Boe (Norway) |
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Women’s Compound |
Danelle Wentzel (South Africa) |
Gerda Roux (South Africa) |
Joanna Chesse (France) |
|
Men’s Recurve |
Jean-Charles Valladont (France) |
Tan Silie (Singapore) |
Denis Gankin (Kazakhstan) |
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Women’s Recurve |
Celine Bezault (France) |
Berengere Schuh (France) |
Victoriya Beloslyuntseva (Kazakhstan) |