Cuba’s Hugo Franco was among the top 48 recurve archery specialists at the World Archery Championships in Berlin 2023, his best performance in these competitions.
The Pinar del Río native reached the match series after accumulating 661 points in the double round at 70 meters -the maximum for a Cuban at this level- and defeated in his first outing the Slovenian Miha Rozic with a 6-5 slate, after the tie-breaking arrow was launched.
Moments later he faced again the Mexican Caleb Urbina, whom he had beaten for the bronze medal in the XXIV Central American and Caribbean Games of San Salvador 2023, but he could not repeat that triumph.
This time he lost 0-6 in a match marked by wind gusts of more than 30 kilometers per hour, in which he failed to hit his best shots.
“It was like guessing the target. It was even for everyone, but we saw many surprising results even for elite men,” commented coach Reiter Tellez from the headquarters, without wanting to justify what happened.
“We saw arrows fall in four or five, something that doesn’t usually happen in world events,” added the trainer, who described the performance as very good in general.
He also recognized that Hugo is going through a moment of sporting maturity, from the possibility of having more competitions than in previous years.
“The performance in the double 70 lap was excellent. He has achieved mastery and skill. Despite our limitations, this year we have been able to compete with stability. We are all focused on their goals and that is important,” he said after recalling that Tuesday’s 19th place was unprecedented for Cubans in world events.
The contestants in the event also had to overcome the rain in the German capital, which could have influenced the unexpected eliminations in the round of 16 of stars such as Brady Ellison and South Korea’s Woojin Kim, the defending champion.
Another early exit was Nicholas D’Amour of the U.S. Virgin Islands. The champion in San Salvador 2023 and eighth in the world ranking said goodbye after winning a single match.
Of the eight archers remaining in the competition, only three were among the top six in the ranking round: Brazil’s Marcus D’Almeida (third), the Netherlands’ Steve Wijler (fifth) and South Korea’s Je Deok Kim (sixth).
