Aussie archer Potts equals national record

Olympic archery hopeful Alec Potts has equalled the Australian recurve record on the opening day of the Shanghai World Cup in China.

Twenty-year-old Potts tallied 685 points on Wednesday to equal the current national record held by Shanghai teammate and former world indoor champion Ryan Tyack.

Potts finished the qualifying round in third place overall behind leader American Brady Ellison, who shot 697 - the third-highest score in history.

The result is a significant boost for Potts in the battle for places on Australia's Olympic team.

Australia will take three archers to Rio, with results in Shanghai having a major bearing on the outcome.

Four Australian archers are competing in China this week in Potts, Tyack, three-time Olympian Matthew Gray and London 2012 Olympian Taylor Worth.

Tyack finished 64th, Gray 68th and Worth 75th.

Potts will now take on the 118th-ranked archer in the field of 120, while the other Australians will face much tougher opponents.

In the women's recurve, Queensland's Semra Ferguson boosted her chances of Olympic selection, finishing 48th in qualifying.

Alice Ingley was the next best Australian in 74th position.