Archery: Uprichard 54th in ranking event

ATHENS - Archer Ken Uprichard fired the first shot in New Zealand's Olympic campaign today as he finished 54th in the men's individual ranking round.

Uprichard, from Canterbury, was 54th out of a field of 64 headed by a blistering world record from Korea's Dong Hyun Im who scored 687 points from 72 arrows.

New Zealand's sole representative, Uprichard totalled 623 points.

The result means Uprichard will face Ming Huang Liu from Chinese Taipei in the knockout competition starting at the historic Panathinaiko Stadium on Monday night (NZT). Liu finished 11th on 663 points today.

The pair will square off for six ends of three arrows at a time, with a maximum of 40 seconds permitted between shots, for a place in the final 32.

- NZPA