Archery: Shanghai win big step up for Kiwi archer

Shaun Teasdale. Photo / Greg Bowker

Shaun Teasdale is a couple of hours of top-quality shooting away from one of the big prizes in archery.

The West Auckland archer won a World Cup event in Shanghai at the weekend and is one of eight competitors invited to the cup finals in Edinburgh on September 18.

Win that and there's a US$15,000 ($20,750) prize attached - and the kudos of enhancing his standing as one of the world's leading exponents of the compound shooting discipline.

"I put it down to lots of hard work and believing I could actually win it," Teasdale, 21, said of his win in Shanghai, which earned him 2000 swiss francs ($2700).

In conditions which varied from thunderstorms and lightning to sticky heat, he eliminated Australian Robert Timms 7-3 in the quarter-finals, cleaned out former world champion Dietmar Trillus of Canada 7-1 in the semifinals and beat South African Koos de Wet 6-2 in the final.

Teasdale estimates the win moves him from No 14 to about No 5 on world rankings. His first emotion on winning was relief.

"You're under so much pressure when you're shooting it," he said yesterday.

"As soon as I realised I'd won, all that pressure just dies. It's the most awesome feeling of relief, and then happiness comes after that."

Shanghai was the fourth World Cup event of the year. Points accumulate over the year.

Teasdale had finished ninth in Antalya, Turkey, in June, and eighth in Ogden, Utah, last month. He knew he had to get fourth or better in Shanghai to get a trip to Scotland.

He tried to shut that out of his mind, and it worked a treat.

Seven archers qualify for the finals on points; the eighth is a wildcard from the host country.

Teasdale, who is off to New Delhi for the Commonwealth Games later in the month, reckons he's in with a winning chance in Edinburgh, a venue he's not familiar with.

He goes into the finals ranked fourth, behind American Braden Gellenthien, Spaniard Jorge Jimenez and Dane Martin Damsbro, but is optimistic.

"My chances are pretty good, as good as everyone else's," he said.

Edinburgh is straight elimination, beginning at 10am with the gold medal match 4 hours later.

Teasdale will fly home the next day, pack his bags and head for India.

His Games teammates, Stephen Clifton and Tony Waddick, were also in Shanghai.

Clifton made the round of 16, Waddick was eliminated in the first round and as a team they were beaten in the second round.