First Gold Medal in Veterans Sports Festival Goes to Archery

by Yang Nakgyu

Published 19 Apr.2022 07:55(KST)

Kim Kang-hoon, the first gold medalist of the South Korean team at the Hague Invictus Games (World Disabled Veterans Sports Competition), is shooting the final arrow in the final match held on the 18th. / Joint coverage team in The Hague (Netherlands)

[The Hague (Netherlands) Joint Coverage Team · Asia Economy Military Specialist Reporter Yang Nak-gyu] The South Korean delegation participating in the Invictus Games (World Disabled Veterans Sports Competition) won their first gold medal on the third day of the competition, the 18th (local time). On that day alone, they added two bronze medals, bringing the total medal count for the Korean team to three.

The first gold medal for the Korean team at the Invictus Games was again in archery. Kim Kang-hoon (37), who competed in the men's recurve individual archery event, won a decisive 6-0 victory over Romania's Cojocaru Emil Florin in the final held at the Zuiderpark Archery Range in The Hague, Netherlands, securing Korea's first gold medal.

Kim Kang-hoon, who is also a national disabled archery representative, scored 26 points in the first set, leading 2-0 against the Romanian archer who scored 25 points. In the second set, Kim scored 27 points while the Romanian scored 24. In the final third set, after the Romanian archer's first arrow hit the 10-point target, Kim briefly faltered by scoring 9 points on his first shot, but then hit the 10-point target with both his second and third arrows, clinching the gold medal.

Having passed the preliminary round held the previous day (17th) in first place, Kim Kang-hoon defeated Ukrainian opponents 6-0 in both the round of 16 and quarterfinals to advance to the semifinals. In the semifinals, after a 5-5 tie with a Polish competitor, the match went to a shoot-off where Kim scored 9 points against the Polish archer's 8 points, advancing to the final.

The medal presenter for the men's recurve archery event was Ambassador Jung Yeon-du of South Korea to the Netherlands, who placed the gold medal around Kim Kang-hoon's neck, adding significance to Korea's first gold medal at the Invictus Games.

Jeong Hyun-min (28), from the Air Force Logistics Command, who competed in the same event as Kim Kang-hoon, defeated a U.S. competitor 6-0 in the round of 16 but narrowly lost 4-6 in the quarterfinals to Romania's Cojocaru Emil Florin, who later faced Kim in the final, finishing in 5th place overall.

Kim Kang-hoon said, "It is an honor to win a gold medal at such a major competition," adding, "I felt a lot of pressure from the moment I entered the competition, but now I feel relieved, very happy, and joyful."

In the men's 100m final held that afternoon at the Zuiderpark athletics stadium, Seo Won-bae (46) and Lee Jin-seong (64) competed.

Seo Won-bae recorded a time of 16.30 seconds and finished third behind competitors from Canada and Italy, earning a bronze medal. Lee Jin-seong, despite being in his 60s, did not give up and ran to the end but unfortunately finished in 4th place.

Seo Won-bae said, "This is South Korea's first participation in the Invictus Games, and I am happy to have contributed to raising Korea's prestige by winning a medal," adding, "The preparation process was tough, but I have no regrets because I enjoyed the competition, which is the main purpose of the Games."

Kang Cha-soo (53), who competed in the shot put event in athletics, threw 7.09 meters in his final sixth attempt, finishing third behind competitors from Ukraine and Iraq, and won a bronze medal.

With the archery and athletics events completed on this day, the Korean team will compete in cycling on the final day of the competition, the 22nd, aiming to win additional medals.