Archers hunt Olympic slots from World Cup

Archery

Nguyễn Thị Thanh Nhi and Đỗ Thị Ánh Nguyệt will take part in the Archery World Cup’s stages starting from April. — Photo thuathienhue.gov.vn

HÀ NỘI — Vietnamese best archers will seek Olympic spots when they compete at the Archery World Cup.

The World Cup has four stages. The first one is scheduled for April 23 to 28 in Shanghai, China. The second stage is held on May 21-26 in Yecheon, South Korea. The third stage is from June 18-23 in Antalya, Turkey. The final stage will be in September with the venue being confirmed later.

The Antalya leg will also host the final qualifier for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, with both team and individual quotas available.

The best eight archers of each category will advance to an additional stage to contest the Archery World Cup Final.

The Việt Nam national team are in intensive training at the Hà Nội’s National Sports Training Centre No 1, asking archers to perform to the best of their abilities for the Olympic qualification which is their most important task of the year.

“We have invested the maximum on the key players to get ready and participate in the 2024 World Cup,” said Phan Trọng Quân of the Sports Authority of Việt Nam’s Archery Department.

“These are events where my players can collect points for their world rankings and receive direct spots if they take medals. It is opportunity for us to qualify for the Paris Olympics.”

The International Olympic Committee offers 128 official places to 64 male and 64 female athletes to Paris this summer.

Việt Nam have not won any place in archery so far but target at least one. The World Cup is the last tournament for them to try.

Among 14 key athletes, Nguyễn Thị Thanh Nhi and Đỗ Thị Ánh Nguyệt are among the best with potential to get high results internationally.

The duo not only dominated the national tournament but also made their names in regional competitions.

Nhi won an individual gold and team bronze at the 2022 ASIA Cup – SHARJAH in Qatar after two golds at the Singapore Open event.

Nguyệt also championed at the Singapore Open and took silver and bronze at the 31st SEA Games 2022 in Hà Nội.

In 2023, Nhi, Nguyệt and teammates took part in several Olympic qualification events including the world championship, Asian Games and the Asian championship. However, none of them was successful.

Việt Nam first came to Olympics at the 2020 Tokyo Games when Nguyễn Hoàng Phi Vũ and Nguyệt took their official slots. — VNS