European Championships Antalya: Superb 6th Place for Denisa Barankova
Our Slovak ambassador Denisa Hurban Barankova, currently ranked World No. 12, was in Antalya for this major event gathering the best female archers in Europe.
Difficult qualification rounds
After undergoing surgery on her string hand this winter, Denisa was competing in only her second international outdoor event of the season.
Already present in Antalya one month earlier for the European Grand Prix, where she finished 14th, the expectations this time were different.
But the qualification round did not go as planned. Between difficult weather conditions and a reduced bow weight during her comeback, Denisa couldn’t fully express her potential over the first 72 arrows.
She eventually finished 58th in qualifications.
But in archery, everyone knows one thing: the top qualifier is not always the one who wins the competition!
Team event
Alongside Elena Bendíková and Kristina Drusková, Denisa started the team competition perfectly with a win against Bulgaria.
Unfortunately, their run ended in the next round against England.
The Slovak team finished 12th overall.
A warrior mindset and outstanding matches 🔥
Match after match, Denisa regained her confidence and progressively raised her level of shooting.
The result: an impressive comeback through the elimination rounds, with several strong performances all the way to the quarterfinals:
🎯 1/48: win 6-4 vs Giorgia Cesarini
🎯 1/24: win 6-0 vs Anastasia Pavlova (10th in qualifications)
🎯 1/16: win 7-3 vs Gizem Ozkan
🎯 1/8: win 6-4 vs Triinu Lilienthal
A hard-fought quarterfinal
In the quarterfinals, Denisa faced young and talented Spanish archer Elia Canales.
An intense match with extremely close sets, which eventually turned in favor of the Spaniard.
Denisa lost 3-7 to the future… European silver medalist.
Still, she leaves Antalya with an excellent 6th place finish - her best result ever at the Outdoor European Championships 💪
Right after the competition, she told us:
“It’s always an incredible pleasure to shoot with a full Uukha setup. My confidence is at its maximum every time.”
Congratulations Denisa on this great performance and excellent European Championships!
#uukhaarchery #teamuukha #feeltheflow
(Photos: World Archery)
