Archery Weekly: Pagni Named Korea Compound Coach

Welcome back to Archery Weekly, your seven-day download on everything that moved the bowsports world from April 21 through April 27, 2026. This was a coaching-bombshell week. An Italian compound legend just took over Korea’s national program, a Turkish teenager rewrote the script in Antalya, and Korea quietly named a 14-year-old to its Asian Games squad. Add a Para European preview that breaks new ground for visually impaired athletes, the NASP Western Nationals in Utah, fresh chatter on the 2026 flagship bow lineup, and a roaring spring 3D and bowhunting calendar — there is a lot to unpack.

Pour yourself a coffee, check your nocks, and let us run through the seven stories that mattered most.

1. Sergio Pagni Tapped As Korea’s New Compound Head Coach

If you only read one headline this week, make it this one. World Archery confirmed on April 21 that Sergio Pagni, the multi-time world champion from Italy, has been appointed Technical Head Coach of the Korean national compound team. According to World Archery, Pagni will lead the squad through the 2026 Asian Games cycle and beyond.

This is a genuinely seismic hire. Korea has owned the recurve podium for three decades, but compound has historically been a different story — India and the United States have dominated the discipline in the post-2019 era, and Korea was shut out of every gold available at the last Asian Games. Bringing in Pagni — an athlete whose name is synonymous with cam timing, draw-cycle smoothness, and high-pressure finishing — signals that Korea intends to weaponize its athlete-development system the same way it has on the recurve side.

For coaches and serious club archers, this story matters beyond the headlines. Pagni is famous for his obsessive attention to release execution. Expect a wave of Korean compound archers refining their hand-tension technique with hinge releases over the next 18 months — and expect Korea’s domestic compound trials to look very different by the 2027 World Championships. If you are still figuring out which release style suits your shot, our guide to the five release aid types is a good place to start.

2. Spring Arrows 2026: Elif Gokkir Stuns 2023 World Champion In Antalya

The 10th edition of the Spring Arrows tournament — the European Grand Prix opener — wrapped up in Antalya this week, and the headline star was 18-year-old Turkish recurve archer Elif Gokkir. World Archery reported that Gokkir defeated former world champion Marie Horackova of Czechia in a tight gold-medal match on April 26.

The win is a statement on three levels. First, Türkiye’s recurve depth on the women’s side is now real — they are no longer a one-archer program riding on Yasemin Anagoz. Second, Gokkir’s matchplay temperament under shoot-off pressure should put her on the radar for every World Cup stage this season. Third, the tournament drew 303 archers from 37 nations, a Spring Arrows record that confirms Antalya’s pull as the de facto European preseason camp.

Berkay Akkoyun, another Turkish prospect, posted a qualification personal best earlier in the week. Combined with Gokkir’s gold, the host nation looks dangerous for the European Grand Prix circuit.

3. Korea Names Asian Games Compound Squad — A 14-Year-Old Makes The Cut

While Pagni was being hired in Lausanne, the Korea Archery Association was finishing the most surprising compound team selection in recent memory. The women’s compound roster for the 2026 Asian Games will include Park Yerin, Park Jungyoon, and — most remarkably — Kang Yeonseo, a 14-year-old middle schooler who is believed to be the youngest archer Korea has ever sent to a senior international event of this stature.

The men’s compound team features veterans Choi Yong-hee (42) and Kim Jong-ho (32), both of Hyundai Steel, joined by Choi Eun-gyu (33). For Choi Yong-hee and Kim Jong-ho, this is a fourth straight Asian Games appearance — a remarkable longevity stat in a discipline as physically demanding as compound.

The strategic read here is unmistakable. Korea is investing in long-term development on the women’s side while leaning on proven nerves on the men’s side. With Pagni now driving the technical program, the next 12 months in Korean compound should be must-watch viewing.

4. Para Europeans Roma 2026 To Feature First Visually Impaired Competition

Significant news on the inclusion front. The Roma 2026 Para European Archery Championships — preview published by World Archery this week — will host the first official visually impaired (VI) archery competition at the European championship level. The discipline uses a tactile sight that lets the archer aim by feel against an aluminum stand, with a spotter calling arrow location.

This is the culmination of years of grassroots development across Italy, the UK, and the Netherlands. Adding VI to the European championship program is a precursor to potential Paralympic inclusion, and it gives clubs across Europe a real reason to invest in VI-friendly equipment and coaching certifications. If your club has been waiting for a green light to launch a VI program, the green light just turned on.

The Roma 2026 event will also feature W1, recurve open, and compound open divisions across individual, team, and mixed-team formats. Expect the Italian and Turkish federations to use this event as a proof point for their development pipelines.

5. NASP Western Nationals Light Up Sandy, Utah

On the youth side, the 2026 NASP Western National Tournament ran April 23-25 at the Mountain America Center in Sandy, Utah, kicking off the National Archery in the Schools Program’s national tournament series. Expanded scholarship opportunities were announced for this season, broadening the prize pool for graduating senior archers.

The competition format, as always, mixes Bullseye and 3D divisions. State qualifying numbers were up across the western region, with several states sending record contingents. Iowa, hosting its own state tournament earlier in the month, ran nearly 150 archers simultaneously on the bullseye line — a logistical feat that NASP shooters and parents will appreciate.

If you coach NASP or run a school program, the broader story is this: NASP’s pipeline now feeds USA Archery, the JOAD circuit, and the collegiate scene more reliably than at any point in its history. The kids on those Sandy lanes this weekend are the senior team in 2034.

6. The 2026 Flagship Bow Lineup: Hoyt AX-3, Mathews ARC 30, PSE Sicario

The shop floor conversation this week revolved around the 2026 flagship compounds, and the early reviews are starting to settle. Three machines dominated the chatter:

• Hoyt Alpha AX-3 — Hoyt’s flagship for 2026 launches with the new XTS Tuning System, a limb-based (not cam-based) tuning approach that corrects right, left, high, and low tears up to one inch. The AX-3 ships in four trims: 29, 33, 33 LD (long draw), and SD (short draw). Pro shops are calling the XTS the most archer-friendly tuning system Hoyt has shipped in years.
• Mathews ARC 30 — Currently being widely cited as the most accurate bow in the 2026 class. The ARC 30 keeps Mathews’s reputation for vibration management while pushing efficiency at standard 70-pound poundage.
• PSE Sicario — The speed king of the 2026 class. PSE optimized the Sicario for hunters who want IBO numbers in the upper 340s without giving up too much forgiveness.

The two macro trends across the 2026 lineup are obvious: more length options (multiple draw and axle variants per platform) and a continued push toward 33-inch axle-to-axle as the new “do everything” sweet spot. If you are sizing up your first compound this season, our complete compound bow guide walks you through the spec sheet without the marketing fog.

7. ASA 3D Pro/Am Heats Up — And Spring Turkey Season Hits Full Swing

Two stories worth bundling together because they share a calendar. The ASA Pro/Am 3D circuit ran a tournament at Camp Minden Training Site in Louisiana from April 23-25, with scores updated April 26. The Pro/Am circuit is the bellwether for serious 3D archers — every shooter gunning for the Shooter of the Year title is hitting these stops, and the leaderboard at asaarchery.com is now starting to take shape.

On the bowhunting side, this is peak spring turkey week across the eastern half of the United States. Tennessee opened April 11 and runs through May 24, Maryland’s regular season opened April 18 after the junior hunt, Wisconsin and Minnesota’s seasons opened April 15, and Connecticut’s bow-and-shotgun season opens April 29. If you have not yet patterned your broadhead group at 30 yards, this weekend is the moment.

For archers debating between traditional and modern setups for spring gobbler hunts, our breakdown of barebow versus recurve covers the trade-offs you should be thinking about.

Watch: Compound Final Highlights From Puebla

Want to see elite compound archery at its sharpest? The Puebla 2026 World Cup compound finals, shot earlier this month, showcase exactly the kind of execution Pagni will be drilling into his new Korean squad. Worth the 12 minutes:

Looking Ahead

The week ahead is loaded. Here is what to track:

• Roma 2026 Para Europeans — Practice and equipment inspection days begin late this week, with finals weekend driving the headlines. Watch for the W1 and VI brackets specifically.
• Shanghai 2026 Hyundai Archery World Cup Stage 2 — The recurve and compound circuit moves to China, where the home crowd will pile pressure on a Korean squad still settling into the post-Pagni-hire vibe.
• NASP Eastern Nationals — The eastern regional national tournament follows hot on the heels of the Western event in Sandy. Expect more record state contingents.
• Spring 3D circuits — The next ASA Pro/Am stop is on deck, and IBO is heating up across the Midwest. If you shoot 3D for fun, this is the season to upgrade your rangefinder.
• Bowhunting — Connecticut’s spring bow season opens April 29, and most other Northeast states are well into peak gobbler activity. Refresh your state’s regs before you head out.

That is the wrap on Archery Weekly for April 21-27, 2026. Pin this page if you want to bookmark the recap, and check back next Monday — we publish a new edition every week, no exceptions. Until then, keep your form honest and your follow-through long.

Got a story you think we missed? Drop it in the comments and we will chase it for next week’s roundup.

Sources

1. 1. World Archery — Sergio Pagni Appointed Technical Head Coach Of Korean National Compound Team — Official announcement of Pagni’s hire to lead Korea’s compound program through the 2026 Asian Games cycle.
2. 2. World Archery — Turkish Teen Gokkir Beats 2023 World Champion Horackova In Antalya — Recap of Elif Gokkir’s gold-medal win over Marie Horackova at Spring Arrows 2026.
3. 3. World Archery — Korea Names Asian Games Compound Squad — Korea Archery Association roster announcement featuring 14-year-old Kang Yeonseo and veterans Choi Yong-hee and Kim Jong-ho.
4. 4. World Archery — Roma 2026 Para European Championships Preview — Preview confirming the first official visually impaired archery competition at the European championship level.