Photos by World Archery
BANGKOK, Thailand – Jason Tabansky delivered a podium performance to open the 2026 international season, earning silver in the W1 men’s division at the inaugural stage of the Hyundai World Archery Para Series.
Competing in the landmark event that signals a new era for global para archery competition, the reigning Paralympic champion was seeded third after qualification.
“I think qualification went well, given the conditions,” he added, noting the additional challenge posed by the heat.
Tabansky then navigated a demanding field with wins over opponents from Hong Kong, India and Chinese Taipei. In the gold medal match, Tabansky faced Korea’s Taejin Ham in a tightly contested showdown.
With the introduction of the new set point system adding an extra layer of drama, the match remained on a knife edge throughout. The W1 division previously used the cumulative scoring system.
“The new set point system is actually really cool,” Tabansky said. “It makes the matches a lot more interesting but can also come back to bite you. I was ahead in my gold medal match but unfortunately had some shots that weren’t where they needed to be and my opponent was able to come back and win.”
Despite the 6-4 defeat, Tabansky’s perspective reflected both sportsmanship and the rising standard within the division.
“I was still very proud of him (Taejon Ham) because it shows that our sport and division is growing in both numbers and quality of archers,” he said. “I’m not going to win them all, but I am honored to be able to share the stage with some of the new up and comers.”
The result continues an impressive run of international form for the U.S. archer, who entered the season as world number one in W1 men and off the back of a silver medal at the 2025 World Archery Para Championships, alongside gold medals in both editions of the Americas Para Archery Cup.
Also representing the United States in Bangkok was Karen Sternfeld, competing in the para recurve women’s division. Sternfeld qualified 16th but, despite a strong start against top seed Ziva Lavrinc (SLO) - a mixed team bronze medalist at the 2024 Paralympic Games - exited at the 1/8 elimination stage.
The Bangkok event marked the opening stage of the newly established World Archery Para Series, a significant step forward in creating a structured, high-level global circuit for para athletes. Sternfeld competed in a deep recurve women’s field, while Tabansky’s silver medal performance ensured the USA opened the 2026 campaign with a place on the podium.
If you are interested in getting internationally classified, please email [email protected] for more information.
| EVENT | DATE | LOCATION |
|---|---|---|
| World Archery Para Series - Stage 1 | March 30-April 4 | Bangkok, Thailand |
| World Archery Para Series - Stage 2 | June 28-July 4 | Nove Mesto, Czech Republic |
| World Archery Para Series - Stage 3 | September 1-6 | Ahmedabad, India |
| World Archery Para Series - Stage 4 | October 13-18 | Santiago, Chile |
| World Archery Para Series - Stage 5 | November 6-14 | Dubai, UAE |
