Pilsen, CZ – Competition has wrapped up for Team Canada at the 2023 World Archery Para Championships in the Czech Republic .
Shawn Matheson, of Carp ON, was the sole Canadian who progressed through to the second round of eliminations in Plzen, Czechia, heading into this match to meet the current world number 7, Lukasz Ciszek of Poland. With the wind picking up, it was a tough match for the Canadian, who fell to his opponent with a final score of 6-0.
“This level of event shows you your gaps in your abilities, and we learned at this event that for me, its the gusts of crosswinds,” said Matheson. “We faced some challenges coming into this match, with no practice field being available, and having to prepare and sight in for the wind only in the 3 ends of practice. It’s something that when we return home we will work towards removing that gap from my shooting, and preparing better for those challenges.”
Shawn Matheson returned to the competition field, alongside Jean-Francois Lavergne of St-Raymond QC, to meet Team India in the Doubles Team Matches. The Doubles format is a unique format for the Para-disciplines, following the same principles of team match play, but with only 2 archers on the line. Each archer shoots a total of 2 arrows each end, to make their cumulative score.
Team India, consisting of Dhanna Ram Godara and Harvinder Singh, who is the 2020 Paralympic Bronze Medalist, was a tough opponent for the Canadian Team. After an initial hiccup in the first end, the Canadian Team kept them close but were unable to catch them, falling with a final score of 6-0.
“This event, while important as it is the World Championships, was a crucial event in terms of development of all of our athletes” said Kylah Cawley, Archery Canada Program Manager. “We have a number of new athletes in the Para Program, with a couple returning to this level of competition after some time away. The Championships have been valuable for them to be able to evaluate where they are compared to their competitors, and where they need to focus to keep moving forward; to close those gaps and be on this level with them.”
Shawn Matheson and Jean-Francois now turn their attention to the Chicago Para World Ranking event, taking place from Aug 2-6th, as another opportunity to compete at the international level, and continue to work together on their skills as a Doubles Team.
The Compound Canadian Men, of Chris Waterman and Kyle Tremblay move their focus to the Canadian Target National Championships, in Victoria British Columbia, which will be the final event for which they can earn selection points to be selected for their next chance at a Paralympic Quota spot in Santiago Chile at the Para PanAm Games this November.
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