GB archer Penny Healey has won the first World Cup title of the year in Antalya and is the new world number one.
After earning her place in the top four, Penny went into the recurve women’s semi-finals match against the 5th ranked archer from China. This was the first match of the day, and it set the tone for the head-to-heads to come. Both An Qixuan and Penny were on top form, and after two ends they were tied 2-2. A perfect 30 from Penny in the third end brought the match to 4-2. A 28 from Penny to the Chinese archer’s 27 won her the set and the match 6-2.
Penny said: "I think my main thought was just get through the semi-final because I didn’t want to have what happened at Paris last year, and I wanted to be able to go through to the World Cup Finals."
In the gold final, Penny faced Germany’s Elina Idensen who ranked in 14th to Penny’s 24th after qualification. Penny opened the match with a 27 to her opponent’s 25 to take the first end. Idensen came back with an improved end of 26, however Penny pipped her once more with a second 27 to take the match to 4-0. In the third end, Penny had gained a three-point lead over Idensen, meaning that she needed an 8 to win with her final arrow, and that’s just what she did meaning she took home her very first World Cup individual title.
Last year in Antalya, Penny’s teammate Bryony Pitman was the previous champion, so once again the gold medal at this World Cup will be brought back to UK soil. This is Penny’s second consecutive individual win this season, having come to Antalya straight after her victory at the European Grand Prix in Lilleshall.
Now being a World Cup stage champion, she has earned her place at the World Cup Final later on this year in Mexico. The World Archery rankings have updated following this event, crowning Penny as the new world number one.
Penny added: "It feels amazing to kind of have this winning streak at the moment, it's quite cool."
On Saturday, GB’s Ella Gibson narrowly missed out on the bronze medal to Italy’s Eliza Roner, placing her in 4th overall.
