At the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, the South Korean archery team has advanced to the semifinals in all six team events and is now competing in the compound individual events. Three years ago, at the Hangzhou Games, South Korea failed to win any gold medals in compound archery, losing all five to India. This time, the team has reached the semifinals in all three team events and is aiming for medals in the individual competitions.
On the morning of September 28, at the Okazaki Central Multipurpose Park in Aichi Prefecture, Kim Jong-ho (Hyundai Steel) and Choi Yong-hee (Hyundai Steel) both advanced to the quarterfinals in the men's compound individual event after successfully navigating the round of 16.
The women's individual competition will take place in the afternoon, with Kang Yeon-seo (Seongsa Middle School) and Park Jeong-yoon (Changwon City Hall) competing starting at 1:15 PM.
The men's compound team is composed of experienced archers. Choi Yong-hee and Kim Jong-ho have participated in four consecutive Asian Games since the 2014 Incheon Games, while Choi Eun-kyu has also competed in two consecutive events.
In contrast, the women's team members—Park Ye-rin, Park Jeong-yoon, and Kang Yeon-seo—are all making their Asian Games debuts. Notably, Kang Yeon-seo, a third-year middle school student, has been selected as the youngest national representative in archery history. She began archery over two years ago, briefly practiced recurve for about four months, and then switched to compound, successfully qualifying for the national team this year.
Records were also set during the team events. The men's team, consisting of Choi Yong-hee, Choi Eun-kyu, and Kim Jong-ho, won their quarterfinal match against Iran on September 27 with a score of 239-234. This score is just one point shy of a perfect 240, surpassing the previous Asian Games record of 238 set during the 2014 Incheon Games.
In the mixed team event, Choi Yong-hee and Park Jeong-yoon achieved a world record by scoring a perfect 160 points, hitting all 16 arrows at 10 points each in their round of 16 match against Japan. The mixed team event consists of each player shooting two arrows per end over four ends, totaling 16 arrows.
Choi Yong-hee and Park Jeong-yoon then faced Iran in the quarterfinals, where they tied at 158-158 but won in a shoot-off, 20-19. Both the men's and women's teams also advanced past the quarterfinals, ensuring that South Korea will compete in the semifinals for all three compound team events.
South Korea is looking to redeem itself in compound archery after the disappointing results at the Hangzhou Games. In 2022, the country secured four out of five gold medals in recurve archery but did not win any in compound, with all five golds going to India.
This time, with all three team events reaching the semifinals, South Korea's chances of winning compound gold medals for the first time in three years remain alive. The individual tournament will take place on September 28, followed by the team medal competitions on September 30. The medal matches for the individual events are scheduled for October 1.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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