{"id":11450,"date":"2026-04-09T09:53:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T02:53:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/?p=11450"},"modified":"2026-04-09T09:53:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T02:53:11","slug":"host-mexico-miss-the-targets-settles-for-bronze","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/host-mexico-miss-the-targets-settles-for-bronze\/","title":{"rendered":"Host Mexico miss the targets, settles for bronze"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Mexico were denied home finals in both compound men and women team event semis but responded by winning their respective bronze medal matches at Puebla – the first stage of the 2026 World Cup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The host nation seeded second in the women category with Andrea Becerra, Dafne Quintero and Ana Sof\u00eda Hern\u00e1ndez dropping 2072 altogether from 216 arrows and are currently the number one ranked team in the world although the latter did not feature in their World Cup or Gwangju 2025 World Championship gold medal performances last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It meant they had a bye in the first round and went straight to the quarterfinal where they convincingly beat El Salvador 235-229 in another sunlit session.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The USA trio of Paige Pearce, Alexis Ruiz and Olivia Dean stopped the favourites in their tracks however 230-229 with the troubling wind causing more problems for the Mexicans than their American counterparts, much to the disappointment oif a supportive full crowd at Parque del Arte.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First shooter Quintero though was still upbeat that her team didn’t leave Puebla medalless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe shot together in 2023, but it’s a new team,\u201d said the Tlaxcala 2024 World Cup Final bronze medallist who helped her team beat T\u00fcrkiye 233-230 for the bronze, dropping seven 10s. \u201cWe feel good, a little bit windy, but we have a lot of communication.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOf course we want to go to the final match, but this bronze medal is good because it’s the first World Cup.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’ll feel particularly rough for Quintero and Becerra with the former averaging the same as Dean – the USA’s top performer in the match at 9.75 – whilst the latter and reigning World champion Becerra topped the arrow charts with an impressive average of 9.88 and seven 10s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 23 year old Hernandez though could only land one of her eight arrows in the 10-ring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pearce, who claimed she had just \u201csurvived\u201d at yesterday’s qualification coming in 16th, was buzzing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Lac La Biche 2024 World Field champion cannot compete at as many international events as she once used to due to it conflicting with her regular national schedule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Puebla is only her second World Cup in five years and was particularly pleased in the way she bounced back from the 72-arrow round, citing a change in her hinge as an instigator for success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRight before we started, I actually took the click out of my hinge,\u201d revealed Pearce. \u201cI’ve never shot a hinge like that before, but I just thought it might make me a little more aggressive with my shot and it did and it definitely paid off.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think we just worked really well together as a team. If someone was struggling, like the other girls did good at picking the other one up and so I think it was really just the team energy that kept us going.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pearce, Dean and Ruiz will face off against India on Saturday whilst in the men Colombia reached their first compound men team stage appearance by nudging Denmark via shoot-off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mexico’s men team came up short against T\u00fcrkiye but then ended the session positively by beating an out of sorts Denmark 233-226 in the bronze match before going to over the stand to be serenaded by the swathes of home fans. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Addis claims top seeding<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Baptiste Addis repeated a strong start to the outdoor season as he poled in the recurve men qualifications. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Paris 2024 Olympic Games team silver medallist similarly topped the field after 72 arrows in stage one of 2025 at Central Florida and the day for him had a little bit of d\u00e9j\u00e0 vu of the same round 12 months ago, with a warm wind causing problems for all recurve and compound archers so far this week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His score too was alike the one in America, dropping only three more points today [674] than the 671 he racked up in Florida.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor me, we work hard every winter and we never know the level I will be in the new competition and new season but I came here without expectation,\u201d said Addis, still amazingly just 19. \u201cI don’t want to be first seed, I don’t want to win the first competition. It’s just to focus on my skill and try to develop in every competition.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLast year, the first World Cup wasn’t the best, but I tried to build something and every competition was better after that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThen I think it’s the same thing this year, not to repeat the same thing as last year, but do better and do the best every time, and sometimes someone will be better than me, sometimes not, and that’s the game.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An expanded Indoor World Series meant the annual The Vegas Shoot was pushed to the last weekend of March, curving out just a fortnight in between the ultimatum of the indoor season and the opener of outdoors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For many it has caused changes to archers’ schedules, as they tried to juggle training in both environments, have a much shortened outdoors training plan – as was the case for Casey Kaufhold for example who started only 12 days ago – or not prioritise indoors at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Young Addis chose the latter, ending his 18 metres campaign at Nimes – his home club – and deliberately not entering Vegas to focus solely on 70 metres shooting in the meantime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two weeks – for him at least – was not enough time to switch and compete to his best abilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A sacrifice in some ways, to not put himself in for a chance of winning 5,000 USD, but his tunnel vision paid dividends as he coped best under the warm, Mexican gusts at Parque del Arte, getting 28 10s also in the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was really to focus on my skill. The wind is here but I need to shoot a good arrow every time to increase my skill. I do my best for shooting a good arrow, not a 10, and if it’s an 8, it’s not a problem.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI can’t regret anything, I do my best, and I think it’s the most important thing. I know my coach knows what is a good arrow for me, and I try to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf I can shoot all the arrows good, it’s 720 and that’s all, but it’s not the game. The game is to try to, first of all, shoot a good arrow and after try to do 100 per cent or 90 per cent of arrows good,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was also a good day for China in both recurve categories in the 72-arrow round.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gwangju 2025 World Championships recurve women silver medallist Zhu Jingyi obtained her first World Cup pole with 659, whilst recurve men rookie Sun Jingxuan became the third seed in his maiden appearance on an international shooting line with 669.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He beat Tokyo 2020 champion Mete Gazoz to the position by getting five more arrows in the X-ring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Action resumes tomorrow in Puebla with recurve team eliminations in the morning, followed by compound and recurve mixed team eliminations in the afternoon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Top seeds: Puebla 2026<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Recurve men<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
    \n
  1. Baptiste Addis, France \u2013 674<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Aldar Tsybikzhapov, AIN \u2013 672\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Sun Jingxuan, China – 669\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    18 archers shot 660+. 1\/48 round cut at 641.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Recurve women<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
      \n
    1. Zhu Jingyi, China \u2013 659<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    2. Casey Kaufhold, USA \u2013 654<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    3. Katharina Bauer, Germany \u2013 653<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      Fifteen archers shot 650+. 1\/48 round cut at 573.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Finals: Puebla 2026<\/h2>\n\n\n\n