A few centimeters away, Pierre Plihon could have returned to the stage on Sunday, in the courtyard of the Château de Vincennes, to play a medal. The last Frenchman in the running in Paris, for the third stage of the World Cup, finally failed in the quarter-finals, this Friday afternoon, against the Moldovan Dan Olaru. Plihon, who opened the table by eliminating the Korean Lee Woo Seok in the 32nd round, had nevertheless taken the advantage in the fourth end of arrows, to lead 5-3, before his opponent equalized and won 9 -7 in the shootout (30-28, 26-29, 26-26, 27-26, 25-27).
The Nîmes archer had previously eliminated his compatriot Jean-Charles Valladont in the quarterfinals (6-2) and the Brazilian Matheus Quintanilha Pacheco Gomes (6-4) in the 8th. This is his best individual performance this season, after the World Cup stages in Antalya and Gwanju (round of 16), and the European Championships in Munich (1st round).
“I have no regrets because I started working with Mr. Oh (Oh Seon-Tek, the Korean head coach of the French) in March only, explains Plihon. It led to a lot of technical changes, I lost 4 cm on my draw, it affects the alignment of the shoulders, the stability… It’s not at all the same movement for me anymore and I waded a little all season. And when you add pressure, it becomes more difficult when you are not sure of your aim. But on the World Cups, I manage to pass laps, even if I am aware that on any other part of the table I would not have succeeded today (this Friday). »
No French in Vincennes on Sunday
Lisa Barbelin was lost in the round of 16, on a shoot-off a little less centered than that of the Japanese Utano Agu, after leading 4-0 then 5-3 (28-27, 30-29, 27-28, 28-28, 27-29/9-9+).
Audrey Adiceom, Caroline Lopez, Thomas Chirault and Baptiste Addis had stopped in the 32nd finals. Note that Addis, 15, stood up to Olympic champion Mete Gazoz, winning the first set of arrows with a perfect score (2-6: 30-20, 27-30, 27-28, 24-25).
No Frenchman will therefore see the final day in recurve (Olympic) archery, Sunday at the Château de Vincennes (to see on The Live Team), since the mixed team lost in the round of 16 this Friday morning, as did the men’s and women’s teams on Thursday. “We cannot say that we are ready, understates Oh Seon-Tek. There are points for improvement in relation to the wind, in counter-aiming, and technique. You have to be able to shoot the same way whatever the conditions. We lack stability, but it will take time. »
