The third stage of the 2016 Archery World Cup is set to begin in Antalya tomorrow, acting as the final global qualifier for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games ©World Archery

The third stage of the 2016 Archery World Cup is set to begin in Antalya tomorrow, acting as the final global qualifier for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

More than 550 archers are set to compete in the six-day event, breaking the record for a World Cup stage - set in Antalya last year - by over 120.

Three men’s and three women’s team places at Rio 2016 are up for grabs, as well as a minimum of six individual spaces.

Among the teams looking to secure a full quota to Rio de Janeiro is Ukraine’s women’s recurve team of Veronika Marchenko, Lidiia Sichenikova and Anastasia Pavlova.

The trio arrive in the Turkish city full of confidence having won gold at last month’s European Championships in Nottingham, thrashing Georgia 6-0 in the final.

Despite Jean-Charles Valladont’s individual success in the English city, France still has no spots for recurvers at Rio 2016 and will be looking to put that right. 

Maja Jager, ranked the 11th best women’s recurver on the planet, provides the invitation-less Danish team’s best chance of a spot, however, a nagging injury for the 2013 world champion could prove to be her undoing. 

Colombia's Sara Lopez will be one of the athletes to watch
Colombia's Sara Lopez will be one of the athletes to watch ©World Archery

Mexico's men's recurve team that would attend Rio is selected, but they still have to claim one of the three invitations available with 48 sides in contention. 

Meanwhile, Malawian recurve archer Areneo David doesn’t need to qualify for a Rio 2016 place in Antalya, however, he does need to prove to the Tripartite place selectors from the Association of National Olympic Committees that he has developed the competitive level needed to attend the Games.

Tripartite places are awarded to developing or smaller nations, in order to help spur the development of sport in the countries and ensure universality at the Olympics.

This year’s Archery World Cup began in Chinese city Shanghai in April before visiting Medellín in Colombia last month.

The World Cup Final is scheduled for September in Odense in Denmark.