Gwangju: Kim Je-deok secured a bronze medal in the men's recurve individual event at the World Archery Championships, marking his first individual medal at a major international competition. Kim triumphed over Italy's Matteo Borsani with a 7-3 victory (29-29, 30-29, 28-27, 28-30, 29-28) in the bronze medal match held at the May 18 Democracy Plaza in Gwangju, 270 kilometers south of Seoul. This win contributed to South Korea's fourth medal in the recurve competition.
According to Yonhap News Agency, individual recurve matches involve archers shooting three arrows per set, with a maximum score of 30 points per set. Each set win earns two points, while a tie grants one point. The first archer to accumulate six points is declared the winner. Kim Je-deok had previously clinched the men's team gold medal alongside Kim Woo-jin and Lee Woo-seok on Wednesday. South Korea also garnered a silver in the mixed team event and a bronze in the women's team event that day.
Kim Je-deok was the sole South Korean archer to advance to the final eight, with his compatriots Kim Woo-jin exiting in the round of 32 and Lee Woo-seok bowing out in the round of 16. During the round of 16 on Thursday morning, Kim defeated Japan's Yuki Kawata 7-1 (29-25, 29-27, 28-28, 30-29). In the afternoon quarterfinals, he overcame Tang Chih-Chun of Chinese Taipei with another 7-1 victory (29-27, 30-30, 29-28, 29-27).
Kim's journey was halted in the semifinals by Spain's Andres Temino Mediel, who won 6-4 (29-29, 29-28, 28-28, 29-30, 30-29). However, Kim managed to secure the bronze by defeating Borsani shortly thereafter. Prior to this event, Kim had accumulated three Olympic gold medals and three world titles, exclusively in team events.
Historically, South Korea has produced 13 winners in the men's recurve individual event across the 16 World Archery Championships since 1993. On the same day, South Korean female archers An San, Kang Chae-young, and Lim Si-hyeon advanced through their initial knockout rounds to reach the round of 16, which is scheduled for Friday.