Gwangju: For only the third time since making their World Archery Championships debut in 1977, South Korea's women's recurve team failed to qualify for the team final. This year's disappointment was heightened as the event was held in Gwangju, South Korea, with the team consisting of An San, Kang Chae-young, and Lim Si-hyeon.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the South Korean team managed to secure a bronze medal by defeating India's Ankita Bhakat, Gatha Anandrao Khadake, and Deepika Kumari with a score of 5-3 (54-51, 57-57, 54-57, 58-56) at the May 18 Democracy Plaza. This victory followed their loss to Chinese Taipei in the semifinals, which was decided by a shoot-off.
In recurve team events, each team member fires two arrows per set, with a maximum score of 60 points per set. Teams earn two points for a win and one for a tie, with the first team to reach five points declared the winner.
An San, a native of Gwangju and goodwill ambassador for the competition, shared that the team did their best despite the challenges they faced. "We didn't finish until about 7 p.m. last night and we've not had much time to recover in between," An said. "So I think this has been a difficult event physically for us. It was disappointing to lose in the shoot-off in the semifinals, but I think we were able to bear down and get the bronze medal in the end."
Lim Si-hyeon, who secured three gold medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics, expressed her emotions after the match, stating, "After we lost in the semifinals, the best we could do was to win this bronze, and I really wanted this medal. I'm honored to have won this with my two teammates here."
Kang Chae-young, who won the 2021 Olympic women's team gold medal alongside An, expressed pride in her teammates. "They are such reliable teammates and I think we can strike fear into other teams with our abilities," Kang remarked.
The focus now shifts to the individual events, with early elimination matches scheduled for Thursday morning and matches beyond the round of 16 planned for Friday. Kang emphasized their collective goal: "The biggest goal is for all three of us to reach the podium. I hope all of us can compete hard and have no regrets at the end."