Kieran Slater has his sights set on a top-16 finish at the European Games when he steps back into the Tofiq Bahramov Stadium on Monday, after making light work of his first-round opponent.
The 21-year-old had been paired with Russia’s Alexander Kozhin, who finished 21 places above him in Tuesday’s ranking round.
But Slater set his stall out early, winning set one by a point. Despite three nines in set two, Kozhin levelled the match but an astonishing two from the Russian at the beginning of set three saw him comprehensively beaten.
And the Stinchcombe archer began set four with a perfect 10 on his way to sealing victory.
Slater, ranked 119th in the world, will face Turkey’s Yagiz Yilmaz next who won three bronze medals at the European Youth Championships in 2010 and admits it would be a fine accomplishment to progress further.
“I’m looking forward to the next round,” he said.
“I would love to get into the top 16, but we will have to just wait and see how far I can go.
“I was fairly confident. I have been shooting well in the last couple of days. I just went in to enjoy it and that’s what happened.
“I wasn’t immediately aware he had scored a two, but I noticed the crowd didn’t cheer. But I had to just keep doing what I was doing because the same could have happened to me.
“Sometimes mistakes happen, that’s life.”
© Sportsbeat 2015