World University Games Day 6 Recap – Team South Africa Opens Archery Campaign

22 July 2025 – Essen, Germany
Day 6 of the 2025 FISU World University Games marked the start of the archery competition at Sportpark Am Hallo, with athletes taking part in the ranking rounds to determine seeding for the knockout stages. South Africa had representatives across three disciplines – Men’s Recurve, Women’s Compound, and Men’s Compound – as they lined up against some of the world’s strongest student-archers.

Men’s Recurve Individual Ranking Round

South Africa’s Wian Roux and Connor Young were in action on the recurve line, finishing side by side with identical totals of 592 points. Roux carded 301 in the opening set and 291 in the second half, while Young tallied 299 followed by 293. Their scores placed them 69th and 71st overall in a field led by Korea’s Seo Mingi, who dominated with an impressive 683 points.

Both archers advanced into the elimination round draw, where head-to-head duels awaited on Day 2.

Women’s Compound Individual Ranking Round

In the women’s compound event, Joane Coetzee closed her ranking round with a score of 627 points (305 + 322), finishing 45th overall. The leaderboard was topped by India’s Parneet Kaur, who set the pace with a formidable 701 points, narrowly edging Korea’s Park Yerin on 700.

Coetzee’s strong second half gave her momentum heading into the next stage, where she would meet a higher-ranked opponent in the knockout phase.

Men’s Compound Individual Ranking Round

South Africa’s standout performances of the day came in the men’s compound event through Hercules Albertus Aucamp and Ignus de Wet.

Aucamp produced a composed round to score 686 points (342 + 344), securing 32nd place in a tightly packed leaderboard.
De Wet followed with 674 points (331 + 343), finishing 50th overall.

The event was fiercely contested, with Korea’s Seunghyun Park setting the benchmark on 707 points. Both South Africans moved on to the elimination rounds with their sights on advancing further in match play.

Looking Ahead

Day 1 of archery at the World University Games concluded with Team South Africa’s full contingent successfully positioned for the knockout stages. While the ranking rounds placed them in the lower half of the draws, the elimination format promised fresh opportunities where precision under pressure would decide the outcome.

For Roux, Young, Coetzee, Aucamp, and de Wet, Day 2 would bring the first head-to-head tests in the knock out rounds, with every arrow carrying the weight of progression.