Spanish archery continues sweet. The tandem formed by Fernando Galé and Adrián Martínez begins to generate enthusiasm and hope. After the bronze in the European Cup from Nove Mesto (Czech Republic), the archers have just reaped a new success, a silver medal in the Open Composed modality for teams at the European Championships in Rome.
The man from Aragon and Madrid have only been throwing arrows for three years and have already won two medals in three international competitions this season. The duo could not do anything against Italy, but they reached their first final after beating Serbia, Slovakia and Great Britain, losing only three sets along the way. The sensations were not the best in the qualifying round, in which they finished in eighth position with 1,346 points.
The battle for the medals started with a very even duel against the Serbs Dejan Milovic and Veselin Uzelac, who were imposed by 145-148. In the quarterfinals they had to deal with the number one seeds and candidates for gold, the Slovaks Marian Marecak and Marcel Pavlik. Three tens in a row placed Spain with a slight advantage of two points that they maintained in the second round (77-75). In the third, the Slovaks took the lead (114-112), but in the fourth and final, with two tens and two nines, the Spanish managed to come back (148-150).
In the semifinals, the British Jamie Harris and Nathan MacQueen demanded the best level from Galé and Martínez, who won 153-151, setting a new record for Spain in scoring during a tie. They arrived tied (76-76) in the third round, when two tens allowed the national team to get ahead (115-113). In the last one they put together a good performance to secure a place on the podium.
In the final, played at the Estadio dei Marmi of the colossal Foro Italico sports complex, the Spaniards faced the Italians Matteo Bonacina and Giampaolo Cancelli, world champions in 2017 and Europe in 2018. After a first round tie (37- 37), in the following the hosts showed their experience to take the gold after winning by 142-149.
“With Serbia it helped us get rid of the nerves of the qualifying rounds and gain confidence. Against the Slovaks it was more difficult, they started as the first team and that’s a bit dizzying, but we could beat anyone. And against the British it was the most exciting. I am speechless. After the round of 72 arrows, we had qualified a bit weak and we had difficult crosses. But we knew that it was not impossible and that if we made our shot, we could do it. What we have achieved is very exciting, these medals are a shot of confidence in order to face the pre-Olympic year. And if we continue along these lines and work hard, we know that we can do anything”, emphasized Fernando Galé.
“As a couple we are young, we have a lot of room for improvement and we have connected very well both on and off the shooting line. We support and encourage each other when an arrow escapes us. It is my first year as an international and I have taken it as a year of learning and knowing everything that a competition entails. On a personal level, I highlight the perseverance and the desire I have to live this experience”, added the Aragonese.
“I feel nervous, but at the same time I am very happy to have come so far in such a short time. We understand each other very well and encourage each other, in addition to collaborating and having a very good relationship. We still have a lot of room for improvement, despite these achievements, we are still newbies. We have a lot of perseverance and sense of work and effort. We are making ourselves more and more noticeable at an international level and we are getting better at overcoming new challenges. Our dream is to be on the podium in a World Cup and to achieve next year’s place for the Paralympic Games in Paris”, pointed out Adrián Martínez.
In the individual event, Fernando won the Frenchman Thierry Joussaume in the round of 32 (139-135) and lost in the round of 16 (138-145) against the Finn Jere Forsberg. Adrián fell (133-137) with the Czech Tomas Vrzal in the first round. For his part, in category VI 2/3 for goalkeepers with visual disabilities, Adrián Orjales was third in the qualifying round with 511 points, which represents a new record for Spain. In the quarterfinals he will face the Belgian Kathleen Meurrens.
Spanish archery achieves a bronze in the European Cup
