World archery will be a game changer at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games. Since the 1978 Bangkok Games, when archery was adopted as an official sport, South Korea, which has won the overall first place for 11 consecutive times, has come down from the top.
It’s been 45 years since India took over. India won five gold medals, two silver medals, and two bronze medals, ranking first overall in archery in this tournament. In particular, it marked the birth of an emerging powerhouse by sweeping all five gold medals in the compound event. 토토사이트
South Korea dropped to second place overall with four gold medals, four silver medals and three bronze medals. Although they swept four gold medals (men’s team, women’s team, women’s individual, and mixed competitions) in the recurve event, it was regrettable that the compound event was only “no gold” for the first time in history. In the final of the women’s individual event, which was the last event of the compound, So Chae-won (Hyundai Mobis) was expected to give her the first gold medal, but it was canceled by winning a silver medal.
Compounds using mechanical bows were recognized as official events at the 2014 Incheon Games. At that time, South Korea won two gold medals, and also harvested two gold medals at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games, further solidifying its position as an archery powerhouse.
In this tournament, India dominated the compound event, with Oyas Praveen Deotale, a three-time men’s compound winner, voicing, “Our ultimate goal is the 2028 Los Angeles (LA) Olympics.” Compounds are not yet an official event at the Olympics, but they are more likely to make their debut at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
The recent uptick in the Indian compound is alarming. In August, he won three gold medals and one bronze medal at the World Archery Championships compound in Berlin, Germany, and ranked first overall. It was a steep growth compared to the previous competition, which had only eight silver medals and two bronze medals.
In line with this, South Korea has also stepped up preparations. Yang Chang-hoon, head coach of the Korean archery team, explained, “We recruited foreign coaches to prepare for the compound event.” However, he pointed out, “We were not behind India in terms of record this time.”
Regarding India’s rise, he said, “It has grown rapidly since the last Asian Games,” adding, “The overall record is rising.” However, coach Yang said, “It’s not our players who did not do well, but India lost because they did so well,” and added, “I think we’ll be competitive enough if we prepare again.”
Coach Yang raised his voice, saying, “I am confident that Korean archery will catch India in the compound and then the compound will catch India enough to reach the top of the world again.” In particular, we are preparing for the possibility of adopting the compound as an official Olympic event, expressing confidence, saying, “I think if we prepare harder, we will be able to win the compound gold medal at the Olympics.”
Although it was inferior to India in the compound event, it proved to be still a strong player in the recurve event. In particular, the women’s archery team won seven consecutive games in the team event, and the youngest, Il-hyun (Korea National Sports University), won three gold medals.
In response, coach Yang praised him, saying, “I want to give him 100 points out of 100 points.” “It’s a shame that men’s archery ranked third in the individual competition, but women’s archery achieved its goal of seven consecutive team events and three individual gold medals,” he said. “I want to say congratulations to the athletes for doing so well.”
In particular, he expressed his extraordinary affection for Il-hyun, who announced the birth of an emerging ace by winning three gold medals in the tournament, saying, “I would like to personally say thank you for winning three gold medals.” He applauded, saying, “We can win three gold medals only if we don’t miss the first place from the preliminary round to the end, and (Lim) Si-hyun did it perfectly.”
It was only two years ago that Ansan (Gwangju Women’s University) emerged as an ace by winning three gold medals at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The two players, who were only two years old, clashed in the individual finals, which was an awkward situation to call a “new and old match.”
This means that Korean archery is producing many outstanding players. “I think it’s quite encouraging and a good phenomenon,” coach Yang said with joy. “If new players continue to come up, it will be a stimulus to the players above,” he said. “It will be an opportunity to work hard again without collapsing.”
Yang chose the final of the women’s team match against China as the best match of the tournament. In particular, I was impressed that Il-hyun, who was the last shooter in a tight set score of 3 to 3, hit 10 points in a row to lead the victory. “The moment we won was the most memorable and the best,” he recalled.
As Korean archery is the best in the world, it was taken for granted to reach the top every time. On the other hand, it will have to be a big burden on the players. Director Yang said, “It is true that the burden is great. Archery is a natural thing to win a gold medal, and if you don’t, it is evaluated that you couldn’t win it,” he said.
However, he is doing his best every moment to repay his enthusiastic support for Korean archery. Coach Yang said, “Thank you for your passionate support and interest in Korean archery,” adding, “We will always run for the gold medal and do our best for that goal.”