DUBAI, UAE – The first days of competition for the athletes at the 2022 World Archery Para Championships are complete. The competition saw 3 Canadian athletes step up to the shooting line to compete in the qualification rounds, followed by facing their first opponents in the 1/48 elimination rounds. Kevin Evans (BC), Steven Murgatroyd (NS), and Chris Waterman (MB) all shot in the compound open event.

Kevin Evans, the veteran of the team, shot a score of 614, placing him 53rd in the standings going forward. Chris Waterman, in his first World Archery event, ended his qualification round with a score of 586, and Steven Murgatroyd, also in his first World Archery event, scored 506.

All three archers advanced to the 1/48 round, with Kevin Evans winning his match in a tie breaker against Thailand’s Phromruethon Tanakhan to advance to the 1/24 round to be stopped by USA’s Ben Thompson.

The Men’s team of Kevin Evans and Chris Waterman advanced to the 1/12 Men’s Open Doubles round on Wednesday morning to face off against Abdygani Aikynbayev and Alexandr Medvedev of Kazakhstan.

“For the first event of the season, I’m proud of the team and their performance,” said Duncan Crawford, National Head Coach, Paralympic Team. “This year continues to be challenging in many ways, but the fact that we’re getting back to International competition has been tremendous. Kevin, Chris and Steve managed the stress of a major event well…and it hasn’t been easy – in addition to the competition they experienced  8 cancelled flights, 3 lost bags, large time zone changes, desert heat and challenging winds. All, including the support staff of Linda Price and Karla Crawford as Coach/Manager and Classifier respectively, had positive experiences and now have International qualification and matchplay experience. Further, everyone attending now has their International classification completed.”

Looking to the year ahead, the program has several domestic competitions this season and the athletes’ will seek to peak for the Para Pan Am Championships late this summer.

Complete results are available at https://info.ianseo.net/?tourid=532