South Korea's archery team, known for its dominance, is set to compete for 10 gold medals at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. Following a record-breaking performance in the ranking round, the archers aim to maintain their strength in recurve while also seeking to reclaim the compound title lost to India three years ago in Hangzhou.
The archery tournament will kick off on September 27 at the Okazaki Central General Park in Aichi Prefecture, featuring a team of 12 athletes competing in both recurve and compound events.
A total of 10 gold medals are up for grabs in individual, team, and mixed team events across both disciplines. The competition will run until October 3, with gold medal matches scheduled to begin on September 30 for the compound men's and women's team events, followed by the mixed team event on October 1, the recurve men's and women's team events on October 2, and concluding with the recurve men's and women's individual events on October 3.
Prior to the tournament, the team heightened expectations by breaking Asian Games records during the ranking round held on September 26.
In the women's recurve ranking round, Kang Chae-young (Hyundai Mobis) scored 685 points out of a possible 720, securing first place and setting a new Asian Games record. Her teammates Oh Ye-jin (Gwangju Bank Ten Ten Archery Team) and Lee Yoon-ji (Hyundai Mobis) followed closely, finishing third with 678 points and fourth with 677 points, respectively, ensuring all Korean competitors ranked among the top.
The combined score of the three athletes in the women's team ranking round also set a new tournament record with a total of 2040 points.
In the men's recurve, Kim Je-deok (Yecheon City Hall) placed second with 693 points, while Lee Woo-seok (Kolon Xten Boys) and Kim Woo-jin (Cheongju City Hall) finished fourth with 687 points and sixth with 684 points, respectively. The men's team also set a new record, finishing first with a total of 2064 points, surpassing India’s 2039 points.
The mixed team ranking round, combining the scores of Kim Je-deok and Kang Chae-young, also broke a tournament record with a total of 1378 points.
South Korea's archery team demonstrated its strength in recurve at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, winning four out of five gold medals available in the discipline, including the women's individual, men's and women's team, and mixed team events.
The compound team is also prepared to compete for medals. In the compound ranking round, Choi Yong-hee (Hyundai Steel) scored 711 points, placing third behind China's Liao Zhahao and Liu Jin, who both scored 712 points. The men's team finished second with a total of 2123 points, just behind China’s 2130 points, while the women's team placed third with 2096 points, trailing China and India, who both scored 2099 points.
South Korea aims to continue its recurve dominance while reclaiming lost gold medals in compound at this tournament. Based on their performance in the qualifiers, the recurve teams secured the highest seeds in both the men's and women's team events as well as the mixed event, with the compound team closely trailing the leaders. Now, it remains to be seen if they can prove their prowess as the 'world's strongest' in the high-stakes tournament.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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