South Korean women’s archery failed to advance to the quarterfinals of the individual competition at the ‘precursor’ to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
The third edition of the 2024 Modern Archery World Cup in Antalya, Turkey, concluded on Nov. 21 (local time) with the quarterfinals of the men’s and women’s individual events, and the Korean archers were wiped out in the women’s individual event.
China’s Yang Xiaolei, India’s Ankita Bhakat, Mexico’s Alejandra Valencia and Japan’s Baka Sonoda are the semifinalists in the women’s individual event.
Three-time Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games gold medalist Lim Im-hyun (Korea Gymnastics Federation), dubbed the “ace” of the women’s team, was the first of the three South Korean athletes to be eliminated.
The South Korean ace fell to Ariana Mohammad (MAL) 0-6 (29-30 27-28 27-28) in the round of 32 in her second match of the tournament.
Jeon Hoon-young (Incheon City Hall) and Nam Soo-hyun (Suncheon City Hall) were the other two to exit in the quarterfinals.
Jeon fell 4-6 (27-24 27-28 27-28 27-25 24-29) to Baccart, while Nam fell 2-6 (27-26 26-28 28-29 26-29) to Valencia.
The ‘world’s strongest’ South Korean archery team has been dominant at the World Cup. The women’s team, who have been far more dominant than their male counterparts, have been the favorites.
In terms of individual competitions, this year’s first and second competitions were dominated by Lim Im-hyun.
Last year, Im took gold in the second and third competitions, and Choi Mi-seon (Gwangju Bank) took bronze in the fourth. The final was won by Kang Chae-young (Hyundai Mobis).
Excluding events where the national team did not compete at all, the last time a South Korean athlete reached the podium in the women’s individual event at a World Cup was more than a decade ago at the 2014 Finals.
With the Paris Olympics just over a month away, this is a cause for concern.
Korean archery will be looking for a gold medal sweep in all five events and a 10th consecutive women’s team title in Paris.
The third World Cup is the last international tournament before the Olympics, so the athletes will have to train and improve their game without any ‘practice tests’.
There have been concerns about the women’s team since the day the national selection tournament ended.
The lack of international experience of Jeon Hoon-young and Nam Soo-hyun was pointed out as a weakness.
That’s why the team has been training without holding a media day or giving interviews to the media, which is a ritual right before a major tournament.
However, in this tournament, the player they trusted the most, Im Tem-hyun, fell apart first.
In the qualifying rounds, she uncharacteristically finished in seventh place. She usually rarely misses the top spot in the qualifying rounds.
The men’s team also had a poor showing in the individual competition.
Only Kim Woo-jin (Cheongju Cheongju) made it to the semifinals, while Lee Woo-seok (Kolon) was eliminated in the round of 16 and Kim Jeduk in the round of 32.
Lee fell 4-6 (29-27 30-29 26-30 26-30 28-30) to Alex Wise (Great Britain), while Kim fell 2-6 (25-29 27-30 29-29 28-28) to China’s Li Zhongyuan.
The team still has a chance to win the team event.
Both the men’s and women’s events will be contested against Olympic hosts France.
The mixed team of Lee Woo-seok and Jeon Hoon-young will face Japan in the final.
The finals of each team event, as well as the semifinals and finals of the individual events, will be held on the 23rd. 토토사이트 순위