Nel, Malan dominate Independence Shoot

The Archery Association of Namibia (AAN) hosted its annual Independence Shoot last weekend at the SKW archery range in Olympia. Forty-three archers from all over the country made their way to the capital to compete in the Compound and Recurve disciplines. The competition was open to all member clubs and registered archers of the Archery Association of Namibia (AAN), as well as other registered Compound/Recurve archers of member associations of the Federation of African Archery (FAA). The prestigious tournament got under way on Saturday with a 1440 Round. Each participant could gain a maximum of 1440 points over a single round that was sub-divided into four different distances. In the Compound Women’s category, Ilana Malan from the SKW Archery Club dominated the field by scoring an incredible 1374 points. This was a personal best for Malan, who shot 1342 points in competition last year. Louw Nel and Hendrik van Eeden were the other two outstanding shooters, as they collected 1369 and 1356 points respectively. This great show of skill gave Nel the overall win in the Compound Men’s division, while van Eeden took top honours in the Compound Cadet Men’s category. The opening event was followed by a 720 Round and Eliminations on Sunday. During qualification the competitors shot 72 arrows, after which they were seeded according to their score. They would then shoot head-to-head in the elimination rounds. In both events Malan and Nel were able to keep their momentum from the previous day to clinch first place in their respective categories. Van Eeden put up a great performance in the Compound Men’s gold medal match, scoring 131 in the process, but Nel bested him with 137 points to take the title. Sebastian Fechter took third place. Elisabeth Taljaard’s 136 points weren’t enough to trouble Malan as she scored a convincing score of 145 to take the gold medal. Third place went to Beanta Viviers. Winners: Compound Men: 1. Louw Nel 2. Hendrik van Eeden 3. Sebastian Fechter Compound Women: 1. Ilana Malan 2. Elisabeth Taljaard 3. Beanta Viviers Compound Cadet Men: 1. Warren Smit 2. Tertius Lambrechts 3. Heinrich Joubert Recurve Men: 1. Gideon Brink 2. Dorian Esterhuizen Recurve Cadet Men: 1. LizeMari de Bod 2. Hanné Snyman Cub Boys U/13: 1. Dirk de Bod 2. SW Kuhn Recurve Men: 1. Paul Grobler Recurve Cadet Men:1. Peter van Eeden Recurve Cadet Men: 1. Adriaan Grobler Compound Junior Women: 1. Jolien Els 2. Elisabeth Taljaard Compound Junior Men: 1. Sebastian Fechter Recurve Cub Boys U/15: 1. Adriaan Grobler Recurve Cub Boys U/13: 1. CF Brandt SANNA Recurve Limited: 1. Paul Grobler Compound Beginner Girls: 1. Mia Karstens Compound Beginner Boys: 1. Werner Grobler 2. Taro Samuelson WINDHOEK-SPORT REPORTER