'Maknae' Im Si-hyeon Upholds Archery Powerhouse Status, Aiming for Triple Crown [Asian Games]

5-3 Victory Over China... Seven Consecutive Team Event Wins
Expectations for Im Si-hyeon in Individual Final with 'Six Shots, All 10 Points'

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Korean women's archery has established a golden milestone by winning the Asian Games team event for the seventh consecutive time. On the 6th, Lim Si-hyun (Korea National Sport University), An San (Gwangju Women's University), and Choi Mi-seon (Gwangju Bank) defeated China, represented by Li Zaman, Hai Ligang, and An Chishan, with a set score of 5-3 (58-58 55-53 55-56 57-54) in the women's team final held at the Puyang Inhu Sports Center Archery Field in Hangzhou, China, during the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games. Achieving seven consecutive championships, they upheld the status of a powerhouse in archery since the 1998 Bangkok Games.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

This remarkable achievement was accomplished through stable game management. Korea, unable to decide the outcome in the first set, scored 55 points in the second set. Although they hit the 10-point mark only once, all other arrows landed in the 9-point zone. Meanwhile, China’s last arrow landed in the 7-point zone, conceding 2 set points. In the third set, both teams showed equal performance. Korea was even fortunate to have an arrow initially thought to be outside the 10-point line corrected to a 10, securing 2 set points.

Korea remained unshaken. An San, who led off, wavered by shooting 9 and 8 points, but Lim Si-hyun and Choi Mi-seon hit all four remaining arrows in the 10-point zone. China lost the chance to overturn the match as their fifth arrow landed in the 8-point zone.

Earlier in the semifinals, Korea defeated India with a set score of 6-2 (56-54 57-54 55-57 57-52). In the quarterfinals, they won against Indonesia with a set score of 6-0 (54-50 57-49 55-51). This victory avenged their defeat in the round of 16 at the Berlin World Championships last August, continuing their gold medal streak.

The youngest member, Lim Si-hyun, who hit six 10-point shots, will become the first triple gold medalist in the Asian Games in 37 years if she wins the individual final against An San on the 7th. She previously collaborated with Lee Woo-seok (Kolon) to win the mixed team gold medal on the 4th. Korea also awarded medals by distance, reminiscent of the 1986 Seoul Games where twelve gold medals were awarded in archery. At that time, Yang Chang-hoon, the current women's team coach, achieved an unprecedented four gold medals. In the women's division, Kim Jin-ho and Park Jeong-ah each won three gold medals.

An San and Choi Mi-seon adorned their first-ever Asian Games medals with gold through this victory. All three athletes were making their debut at the Asian Games.

Meanwhile, in the earlier bronze medal match, India edged out Vietnam to claim the bronze medal.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.