Paris, July 29 (UNI) South Korea continued their gold sweep in women’s team archery, defeating China 5-4 to capture their 10th straight gold in the event at the Paris Olympics on Sunday.
Mexico beat Netherlands 6-2 to take the bronze earlier in the day.
The South Korean trio of Lim Sih-yeon, Nam Suh-yeon and Jeon Hun-young were caught in an intense competition with China after leading following the first two rounds, but the Chinese archers caught up to tie at 4-4, forcing the game into a three arrow shoot-off. In the deciding round, each athlete from both teams shot one arrow in rotation, but China came up short, losing 27-29.
Despite being one step away from the championship, China’s team declared themselves content with their performance.
“The team played hard and showed a tenacious spirit during the game. We will now focus on preparing for the upcoming matches,” said Kwon Yong-hak, coach of China’s women’s archery team.
China’s team of Yang Xiaolei, Li Jiaman and An Qixuan had defeated Indonesia and Mexico in the quarterfinal and semifinal respectively before facing South Korea in the gold medal match.
“[The Koreans] are more comprehensive. But we keep focusing on what we do, and it has already proved a lot for us to have a 4-4 in the game [to force the shoot-off]. So we already feel good about this,” said Yang.
Meanwhile, An said she had set her eyes on the next Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028.
“What we have achieved today has made the team more determined in our training strategies. It laid a foundation for our preparations for the next Games,” said An.
South Korea has shown unwavering dominance in the event since it was introduced to the Olympics in 1988.
“At the moment of the shoot-off we tried not to think too much, and we were able to do it as we prepared,” said Jeon Hun-young.
The men’s team archery event will take place on July 30, and the individual elimination round will start on July 31.
