Ten UNAM archery athletes are preparing for the international competition to be held from February 13 to 15 in Mérida
Gerardo Avalos
EUNAM archery is preparing to face the Indoor World Cup that will take place in Mérida, Yucatán, from February 13 to 15, with a contingent of 10 archers. This stop on Yucatecan soil is a stage of the prestigious World Archery Indoor World Cup circuit.
In addition to Mérida, the cities of Lausanne (Switzerland), Nimes (France) and Las Vegas (United States), among others, are part of the headquarters of this circuit, which is recognized for its competitiveness and for having stages in emblematic places for indoor archery.
This contest in Mérida is the first event of the selection process to form the Mexican team that will represent the country in international competitions, in any modality, during this year 2026.
The pass for the Indoor World Cup circuit was obtained by puma archery after its participation in the CdMx Indoor Championship 2025, an event endorsed by World Archery Mexico, held in December, at the Deportivo Morelos Multipurpose Gym, in Cuajimalpa.
For the men’s branch it was necessary to surpass the minimum mark established by World Archery Mexico of 570 points in the last indoor Championship. For their part, in the women’s branch, the archers who surpassed 560 units achieved the ticket to Mérida.
There are four Auriazule women who managed to access the Mérida contest: Érika Gabriela Baeza Fonseca, student at the National Preparatory School campus 1 Gabino Barreda; Ana Paola Arcos López, student at the Faculty of Psychology; Karen Medina González, from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Zootechnics; and Fátima Abigail Neri Lara, coach of the UNAM Archery Association.
As for the men, there are six who obtained the pass: José Eduardo Calderón Islas and Miguel Ángel Cruz García, both from the Faculty of Architecture; Francisco Pérez Jiménez, from the Faculty of Sciences; Emilio Gómez Gómez, member of the Extension Program; Ricardo Alberto Amaya Sosa, coach of the UNAM Archery Extension Program; and Daniel Kevin del Valle Castillo, coach and president of the UNAM Archery Association.
“In Mérida it will be an important challenge because the best competitors in the world attend in this indoor modality. In the CdMx Championship it was my first indoor competition, I knew that I had to be very precise, since errors are decisive in the competition. I trusted my experience and achieved the result,” said Gabriela Baeza, from Prepa 1, who also won a gold medal in the event in Mexico City.
For her part, Karen Medina, from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, commented: “It is a great satisfaction to have been among the representatives of our National University for the event in Mérida. I am excited by the idea of competing at the highest level indoors. I have prepared myself to achieve good results and over time they have been reflected. I am grateful for the support of my family, my coaches and my teammates for believing in me and developing the athlete that I am.”
At the CdMx Indoor Championship 2025, UNAM archery won four gold, three silver and three bronze medals. “The difficulty of this indoor modality is that it is 18 meters away and the center is smaller, similar to a one peso coin,” explained coach Kevin del Valle.
