Tokyo 2020, tomorrow the blue of archery will be on the field

The blues are ready to take the field tomorrow for the 32nd: Lucilla Boari at 6.50 am Italian with Zyzanska (Pol), Rebagliati at 7.03 with Bjerendal (Swe) and Andreoli at 9.26 with Barbelin (Fra). The Brazilian D’Almeida will be Nespoli’s challenger at 1/8 on Saturday after the victory over the Dutch Sijef Van Den Berg who, at only 26 years old, officially leaves the high level of competition with this match due to the strong migraines that causes him race stress.

There are also other surprises from today’s competition: 22-year-old Itay Shanny is the first Israeli archer to enter the round of 16 at the Olympic Games. His path is not at all obvious, given that he is 92nd in the world ranking and started with the 60th score at the end of the ranking round.

Also noteworthy is the injury to the Finnish Vikstrom: while he was leading 5-3 over the Malaysian Mohamad, his lower limb broke and, after having to replace the tool during the match, he was defeated in the play-off.

The second day of individual qualifiers at Yumenoshima Park Archery Field was characterized by other surprises and shooting conditions that were further different from the previous days. If Nespoli competed in the absence of sun and rain, this morning on the competition field there were sun, clouds and a rather insidious wind to manage.

TOMORROW THE BLUE ON THE FIELD: THE CHALLENGES AND THE DECLARATIONS

Tomorrow, Thursday 29 July, will be the last day dedicated to the first two elimination rounds (32nd and 16th). Italy returns to the field with the blue who aim to overcome the first obstacle of the 32nds and then gain access to the second round and the day dedicated to the women’s individual finals on Friday 30 July.
Unfortunately the scoreboard of the direct matches foresees at 1/16 a possible all-Italian match at 14:29 (at 07:29 in the morning in Italy), in case Lucilla Boari and Chiara Rebagliati pass the first elimination round. In the meantime, the athlete who had access to the round of 16 on Friday has already been defined: it will be the Belarusian Marusava, n.39 at the end of the ranking round, who beat the home athlete Yamauchi (Jpn) with a clear 6-0. he had instead closed the qualification in 6th place.

Lucilla Boari will be the first Italian to walk the Tokyo shooting line, at 1:50 pm local time (06:50 am in Italy) to face the 24-year-old Polish Sylwia Zyzanska, who closed the ranking round with the 42nd score and is the n.45 in the world ranking at the debut at the Games after having participated in the 2014 Youth Olympics.
“After witnessing Mauro’s two matches – says the athlete from Mantua – I arrive at the individual clashes knowing that the weather conditions will be completely variable and unpredictable. I will face them with my head held high and trying to concentrate as much as possible on the shot and the good sensations. Expectations? I hope to return to the same focus I was in in the individual matches that I played in the world cup in Paris, before leaving to come to Tokyo. If I keep the same concentration it will be a good result for me in any case ”.

Chiara Rebagliati will go on the field immediately after the team company, at 14:03 in Tokyo (07:03 in the morning in Italy), where she will meet an experienced athlete, the 34-year-old Swedish Christine Bjerendal, in her third presence Olympic after London and Rio, which finished the qualification in 55th place.
“I can’t wait to return to the field of the finals – said the athlete from Savona -, after that of the mixed team and with the team I want to live this other experience in individual matches as well. At the moment I’m calm, I really want to get involved and get back to competing. Of course, I will give it my all and work hard to do what I know how to do. I am happy to be back on the shooting line and, in addition to guaranteeing maximum commitment, I also hope to have fun ”.

Tatiana Andreoli will challenge the 21-year-old French Linda Barbelin to 32nd, at 16:26 in Tokyo (09:26 am in Italy), who finished the ranking round in 13th place and currently holds the 2nd place in the world ranking . A difficult first test for the Azzurri, who however is used to showing off performances of the highest level against any opponent.
“Not having made an excellent qualification – explains the Piedmontese archer -, I will have difficult fights and no one has high expectations of me. Of course I will fight until the end, because it is my Olympic debut and I really want to do everything in my power. I hope to do mine and, if possible, even a few more points. With the wind, everyone is liable to make a lot of mistakes, but I want to try to keep a high average whatever the weather conditions. And if my opponent does better than me, I will congratulate her, but I go out on the field convinced to give my best and to compete with my head held high ”.

THE BRAZILIAN D’ALMEIDA THE ADVERSARY OF NESPOLI TO THE OCTAVES

Today’s competition defined the opponent on Saturday 31 July in Mauro Nespoli’s round of 16 which will be played at 9:30 am in Tokyo, at 02:30 am in Italy. The blue will face the 23-year-old Brazilian Marcus D’Almeida, currently number 23 in the world (when he made his debut at the Rio Games he had risen to 6th place), who boasts in his palmares the silver at the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing 2014 and the world title at the 2015 Youth World Cup, as well as a silver in the World Cup final, also in 2015.

The Carioca athlete overtook the British Huston 7-1 to 32nds and, with the same result, another archer of excellent value such as the Dutch Sijef Van Den Berg who had announced before the competition that he would leave the high level of competition, to only 26 years old, suffering from cluster headaches and migraines, induced by the stress for competitions. Hers was therefore the last presence in the international arena. Van Den Berg himself had eliminated the French Valladont in the first round, who at the Rio Games had overtaken Nespoli in the play-off match to access the semifinals.
On the Nespoli side of the board, as regards a possible access to the quarter-finals, there are the German Unruh, who yesterday beat the South Korean Kim by surprise and the Canadian expert Duenas, who beat the Bangladeshi archer Shana, the athlete who had won the world bronze in 2019 against Mauro Nespoli who, with the 4th individual place, had in any case guaranteed Italy the pass to Tokyo.

In short, apart from the team golds of the Koreans in recent days, this edition of the Games seems ready to offer many surprises, like that athlete Itay Shanny, a 22-year-old student who enters history as the first Israeli to access the round of 16 at the Games Olympic. Shanny, n.92 of the world ranking, who closed the qualification with the 60th score, first beat the home athlete Muto 7-3, 5th at the end of the ranking round and then the Indian Rai in the 6-5 play-off (10-9). Among the surprises – but certainly not funny for those who lived it – that which happened to the Finnish athlete Antii Vikstrom in the first elimination round: while he was in the lead 5-3 against the Malaysian Khairul Anuar Mohamad, his limb broke lower bow (more unique than rare at these levels) and, after a break served to get back into the game with the reserve bow, was recovered by the opponent and then lost in the play-off 6-5 (10-9 ).