Even if Spain had won the contest outright at 5-3, it still would’ve deserved to be regarded as one of, if not the best match of the year.
Whilst wind has been an issue for many this week in Madrid, it was at its least strong for the morning session, making fine shooting conditions for all the team medal matches.
Winning the first set 38-37, the Spanish duo didn’t get any of their next arrows in the 10-ring, with Canales even getting one in the red seven ring. Tying the third set at 38-38 made the scores 3-3 heading into the fourth and final end.
If that wasn’t nerve-wracking enough for the Spanish supporters, Canales’ seventh arrow of the match went right into the nine, whereas China landed two Xs and a 10. At the very last moment though, Shanghai 2025 champion Mengqi dropped low into the nine despite Jingyi’s words of encouragement almost literally in his ear before he shot.
As the World Championship gold medallists had an X and a 10 in their last two arrows, a shoot-off was guaranteed and, like last year in Gwangju, they kept their nerve, arguably a tougher task than then due to the heavily influential Spanish crowd.
“In the end, I know they’ll [her family] still love me, win or lose, so I just want them to be able to enjoy this experience with us, and the fact that it’s in Madrid makes it easier for everyone to be there,” replied Canales when asked how much harder it was to concentrate with every arrow being cheered before and after it was released. “I think the first thing I’m going to do is go out with my family, with my parents, to eat, to celebrate with them, and then in the afternoon to rest,” added current recurve men world champion Temiño Mediel who impressively shot six of his arrows in the 10 or X.
“We still have one competition left this year [Taranto 2026 Mediterranean Games] so today we’ll celebrate these days and then refocus a bit on our goal.”
Competition in Madrid concludes with recurve individual finals in the afternoon.
