Emircan Haney battled a formidable line-up, rain and wind in Nanjing to become Türkiye’s second-ever compound Archery World Cup Champion after Demir Elmaagacli in 2015.
Haney was drawn against reigning World Archery Champion Nicolas Girard in Thursday’s quarterfinals – a tall order to start – and after defeating the Frenchman, 147-146, he met top seed and four-time circuit king Mike Schloesser, edging the Dutchman in a shoot-off.
The new world number one, Mathias Fullerton, then stood in his path – but being the underdog for the third time that cool and damp afternoon proved no problem for the Turkish archer, who shot exceptionally to take the gold medal, 149-148, just one point off perfect.
The fact that there were 16km/h gusts, regular showers and far cooler temperatures in China made the achievement all the more impressive.
“I already had silver and bronze medals from the stages this year, so I was always expecting to get the gold – but I didn’t know when,” said the 2022 European Grand Prix winner. “This morning when I woke up I felt fresh, thinking ‘yeah, I can do it’, and because of this, I’m proud of myself.”
“Today all my opponents were extremely difficult. That’s why I only focused on myself and just tried to hit the 10. It was all mind games today – I just told myself, ‘be calm and do my best’.”
Calm he was. Haney was the only compound man to use an index-finger release today – compatriot Hazal Burun used it in the women’s competition – but he roared when he dropped his 14th 10 against Denmark’s Fullerton to seal the match, running straight to his coach Mehmet Ejder Sozen.
The pair shared a long embrace, and Sozen – a former medical member of Team Türkiye – shed tears alongside national technical director and head coach Yusuf Goktug Ergin as the national anthem played at Nanjing Olympic Museum.
