The Netherlands‘ Mike Schloesser qualified top of the compound men‘s field with 598 during the second qualifying session at the Taipei Archery Open in Taoyuan City, Chinese Taipei on Friday.
Schloesser is back for a fourth time attempting to defend the title he won here last year. He also won at the inaugural edition in 2022, and returned again in 2023 when he finished runner-up to India’s Prathamesh Samadhan Jawkar.
“I won here last time, so of course I want to bring the title back – if I shoot like the first half, I have a real chance.” Mikey posted a clean 300 in the first half followed by a 298 back half.
“In the second half I felt like I was running out of gas; the jet lag kicked me a bit,” he admitted. “There’s definitely room for improvement.”
Schloesser‘s achievement of a fourth consecutive top seeding in Taipei paled beside the extraordinary score posted by Korea‘s An San who broke the indoor world record by four points with 599 to top the women’s field.
Her compatriot – and fellow Olympic champion – Ku Bonchan topped the recurve men‘s field with 593, one point ahead of Willem Bakker of the Netherlands.
Ku shared that he was keen to return to the Korean outdoor frontline, saying: “My goal is to return to the national team and compete in the World Cup again,” he said. ”We finished the second round of trials recently, and with a strong winter training season ahead, I want to earn selection next year.”
India‘s Jyothi Surekha Vennam led the women‘s compound field with 593.
The youth fields here are stuffed with top Korean talent and notably, Seo Junyong topped the men’s under-15 field with a score of 598, with An Seoyeong heading up the women’s under-15 field with 596. Both are just 14 years old.
The top 32 archers in each category advance to matchplay; the cut for the compound men’s bracket fell at 559 on Friday.
Competition continues on Saturday afternoon and evening with individual eliminations down to and including semifinals.
