Garcia continues medal-laden year with Archery World Cup final gold

Miguel Alvarino Garcia claimed men's Archery World Cup final gold by beating Frenchman Jean-Charles Valladont ©World Archery

Spain’s Miguel Alvarino Garcia continued his superb year by claiming surprise gold in the men’s recurve event at the Archery World Cup Final in Mexico City with a 6-2 victory over France's Jean-Charles Valladont.

Garcia, the inaugural European Games champion, had never won an international medal before 2015 but maintained his fruitful campaign with a controlled performance in the final.

He qualified for the season-ending event with the lowest number of points but proved too strong for the rest of the field, beating South Korea's 2013 world champion Lee Seung-yun in the first round.

He then went on to dump American Colin Klimitchek out of the competition in straight sets to book a meeting with Valladont, who had sealed a shock win over world champion Kim Woo-jin of South Korea in his semi-final.

Kim secured the bronze, beating Klimitchek 7-3.

Garcia started the all-European affair the stronger and edged into an early 2-0 lead before sealing an historic triumph for his nation.

“This is a dream come true,” he said.

“This is the first time Spain wins a title at an Archery World Cup Final, so winning it is amazing.”

South Korea's Choi Mi-sun justified her number one world ranking by claiming her maiden Archery World Cup Final gold — South Korea's Choi Misun justified her number one world ranking by claiming her maiden victory at the Archery World Cup final in Mexico City ©World Archery

In the women’s recurve competition, South Korean Choi Misun defied her young years, clinching her maiden Archery World Cup crown at the age of 19.

Choi, a bronze medallist at this year’s World Championships in Copenhagen, secured the title with a 6-2 success in the final against India's sixth seed Deepika Kumari.

The top seed was in commanding form during the entirety of the event, dispatching Mexican Alejandra Valencia 7-3 in her opening contest.

She then edged a close semi-final with America's Mackenzie Brown before going on to seal the gold medal with a dominant victory against Kumari.

Chinese Taipei’s Le Chien-Yeng, who ended the challenge of South Korean Olympic champion Ki Bo Bae in the first round, claimed bronze.

“I just become Archery World Cup champion, another title that makes me the first in the world,” Choi said.

“This makes me happy and I'm pretty sure it will help me to do even better as I would very much like to stay on top.”