South Korean archers scoop 5 gold medals at World Cup Shanghai leg
Powerhouse South Korea pocketed five gold medals – half of the total – to become the biggest winner at the Archery World Cup Shanghai leg, which concluded in Lujiazui, the Pudong New Area, on Sunday.
Shanghai was the second stop of this year's World Cup. As a qualifying event for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, the event attracted some of the world's best archers, including South Korea's Tokyo Olympic champion San An and world No. 2 Woojin Kim.
China's eight-archer team won two silver medals and a bronze at the six-day competition.
Shanghai was the second stop of this year's Archery World Cup.
Wang Dapeng, Li Zhongyuan and Qi Xiangshuo helped China win a silver in the men's team recurve, while An Qixhuan, Zhang Mengyao and Hai Ligan placed third in the women's team recurve final.
Wang then partnered Zhang in the mixed team recurve final, but they lost to their South Korean opponents to pocket a silver medal.
"We have been absent from international competitions for three years," said Wang. "The World Cup in front of home supporters was a good opportunity for us to gain experience before the Asian Games (in September in Hangzhou) and fight for slots at the Paris Olympic Games."
Wang Dapeng partnered Zhang Mengyao to win a silver medal in the mixed team recurve final. South Korea won the gold and Turkey placed third.
Hai, 22, pointed out that she was still a spectator the last time Shanghai hosted the Archery World Cup in 2019.
"Last time, I was sitting in the stands. Now, I'm taking part in the competition myself," she said. "The audience in the stands reminded me of my old days and got me motivated."
The river-side court for the finals was set up near Fucheng Road in Pudong.
On Sunday morning, South Korea claimed all three gold medals in the team competitions.
It eased past Chinese Taipei in the women's team recurve final, and then defeated the host in the men's and mixed team recurve finals.
The finals were held at a river-side venue in Pudong's Lujiazui area.
Coming into the afternoon session, South Korea's 19-year-old Sihyeon Lim edged her compatriot for the women's recurve individual gold medal.
The men's individual recurve gold went to top-ranked Marcus D'Almeida of Brazil, who overcame South Korea's Jin Hyek Oh in the last final of the Shanghai event.
After the Shanghai stop, the archers will head to the Colombian city of Medellin in June and the French capital of Paris in August before the tournament comes to a close in Hermosillo, Mexico, in September.
