If there was anyone capable of giving Mexico a medal in the Archery World Cup Final in Tlaxcala, it was Alejandra Valencia. The double Olympic medalist left two Korean competitors on the road to win the bronze medal, an unmatched joy for the Mexican public that gathered in the beautiful setting.
You may be interested: Alejandra Valencia expects a solution from Conade regarding her scholarship: “the rules are poorly made”
There is little doubt that Valencia is one of the best goalkeepers in the world, but the draw paired her with the Olympic champion Lim Sihyeon, the same one that eliminated her in Paris 2024 in the quarterfinal stage.
Although there was confidence in the Sonoran, It was known that the challenge was huge. It was incredible to see Ale overcome adversity. The Mexican showed her hierarchy by winning two of the five sets and equaling two others, that is, the Korean was only able to beat her on one occasion. That did not prevent drama and Ale had to win the fifth set by closing with a 10 to advance to the semifinals.
BRONZE ARROWS! 🇲🇽🥉
Alejandra Valencia climbs to third place on the podium in the Tlaxcala 2024 Archery World Cup Final 🏹, with her 6-2 victory against South Korean Jeon Hunyoung.
🔹️It is his third medal in this type of events and number 12 for Mexico. pic.twitter.com/rYZ39GtB3j
— CONADE (@CONADE) October 20, 2024
By leaving the world number one on the road, the hope that Valencia could be crowned was great. The Mexican stood in the shooting line against Deepika Kumarifrom India, and all the confidence he showed in the initial duel disappeared. Ale threw some eights that took her out of the competition and when she wanted to return it was too late. His rival took the victory with a score of 6-4.
How was the fight for Alejandra Valencia’s bronze?
The defeat relegated the Mexican to the fight for bronze. Along the way he met again with a South Korean competitor, the greatest power in this sport. Valencia faced Jeon Hunyoung in an exciting duel in which she once again showed herself as the powerful archer that she is.
The double Olympic medalist took the first set, and despite the Korean woman’s awakening in the secondhad no problem winning the third and fourth quarters. Valencia thrilled the public with a great closing in which a 10 allowed him to win the bronze medal.
What did Alejandra Valencia say about her bronze medal?
Happy for the bronze medalbut not satisfied, that’s how goalkeeper Alejandra Valencia from Tlaxcala left. And the Mexican was convinced that she had everything to win the gold medal in front of her people, but an unexpected defeat in the semifinals of the World Cup Final ended her hope.
“I wanted that first one, I was psyched for that first placebut it was not possible, it was third place that I managed to win, but I had a good competition. I beat very good archers, we are the eight best in the world, and they see us and say, uuuuh, let’s go against Mexicoit is the result of all the work we have been doing,” said Valencia, who left the Koreans Lim Sihyeon and Jeon Hunyoung along the way.
The Cup final represented the last tournament for the Mexican this season. Valencia is already focusing on his vacation and will later prepare his return to training.
“Before thinking about next year I’m going to think about my vacationand after that start shooting again little by little for next year’s selection. Next year it’s the World Cup,” he said.
Alejandra Valencia recognized that Over the years he has learned to handle pressure which means being one of the favorites to get on the podium in each of the competitions in which it participates.
“When you do something you like and you enjoy it while you’re doing itthings are going to turn out well for you, when you start putting pressure on yourself and focusing on external things is when things don’t turn out well,” he said.
ÁNGELA RUIZ FELL IN THE QUARTERFINALS
The women’s recurve modality It also had the presence of the young Ángela Ruiz. The barely 18-year-old goalkeeper, medalist at Paris 2024, reached the quarterfinals against China’s Li Jiaman. Ángela had a difficult start when she fell in the first set, however, by the second she began to tighten the contest, taking a point from her rival. The Chinese put the Mexican on the ropes by taking the third setHowever, Ángela once again showed signs of life by sending everything to a fifth set, where unfortunately Jiaman took the set by just one point.
We already have a WhatsApp channel! Follow us, activate the bell and receive sports news
