Emircan Haney drew his final arrow at the Yuanshen Sports Centre with a record in reach. In the compound men's qualification at Shanghai, the second stage of the 2026 Hyundai Archery World Cup, the Turk shot 718 out of 720 — a national record, and the top seed.
The round began without fault. The defending World Cup champion from Türkiye was flawless after 36 arrows and on course to break James Lutz's recent world record of 719. Then the margin narrowed. The beginning of the second half spelled the end of that dream as he shot one nine and then another in the ninth end to bring his score to 538 from 54 arrows. The tally remained immense, but the record slipped away by a single point.
The pole was not settled until the last. Mathias Fullerton shot perfectly in the second batch of qualification arrows and was therefore ahead, and the pole could have been the Dane's. But a nine in the final end — only his third of the afternoon session — denied him top seed at Yuanshen Sports Centre for 717. By that margin, Haney held first place.
The measure of the season
Haney arrived in Shanghai in form. He was also the top seed at the opening leg of the European Grand Prix at the Spring Arrows the weekend before, and the 25-year-old credited his training regime for the performance. The work, by his own account, has been as much mental as physical.
Competing here today has confirmed for me that my approach was sound — that I was indeed focusing on the right things. I intend to maintain this exact same strategy moving forward throughout the upcoming season.
The qualification score set the tone for a strong Turkish week. In the compound men's team event, Emircan Haney, Batuhan Akcaoglu and Yagiz Sezgin won 234-231 against the United States team of James Lutz, Louis Price and Gaius Carter. The victory carried weight beyond the scoreline. Until Saturday the Turkish trio had repeatedly fallen short at this level; they most recently claimed silver at the opening stage of the season in Puebla.
The result sits within a rising trajectory. Haney enters this season as the reigning World Cup champion and was named Best Archer of the World for 2025, honours that framed him as the man to beat. In Shanghai he answered as a favourite should: at the front of the field, calm under a record that came and went, one arrow from history.
The record belonged to another. The season, for now, belongs to Emircan Haney.
