Unbeaten in 2023, Lim crediting Korea’s team ethic with success

Lim Sihyeon believes the intense competition and strong team spirit within the Korean squad have been key to her phenomenal international debut – and an excellent start to this year’s Hyundai Archery World Cup.

The 20-year-old joined the top squad of archery’s leading nation in 2023.

She wore the iconic white shirt for the first time in Shanghai, winning individually, and repeated the feat again in Medellin.

Meanwhile, Lim, reigning Olympic Champion An San and former world number one Kang Chae Young have retained the Korean recurve women’s customary position as the team to beat, having matched Lim’s individual results at those two stages of the international circuit.

No matter the line-up, Korea is a favourite.

“We went through five different team trials in six months to be selected for the national team,” she explained. “This means only athletes who can maintain their form and performance over a long period of time can be selected for the national team.”

“I think this is the main reason why Korean archery is so strong.”

The story of Korea’s national selections is oft repeated – but it’s indicative of a wider professionalism in the squad.

And at the national training centre in Jincheon this year, the team has gone above and beyond its previous world championship preparations, emulating the strategy for prior Olympics by building a replica stadium for its athletes to practise in.

(Why? Because only three teams will qualify for the Olympic Games in Berlin. And Korea intends to be one of them.)

On an individual level, Lim has been pleased to see work on her physical stamina pay off in competitions so far this year, while she continues to learn plenty from her experienced teammates.

“It is a great honour to train with them [An, Kang and Choi Misun] and compete as a team in international competitions,” Lim said. “I have benefited from them in terms of technique and experience since becoming a member of the national team.”

“As a team, we have a good chemistry and a great atmosphere in and out of training.”

Still only 20, Lim Sihyeon is the latest in a long line of young debutants to find success early in their international careers.

(An San, now renowned for her triple Olympic gold in Tokyo, was in her first year in the Korean top team that season, while Jang Minhee – the reigning world champion – won’t defend her title in 2023, having not made the squad again.)

But Lim’s path could have been very different, had she picked a different direction at a young age.

Faced with a choice between two sports in the third grade, Lim went for the former and has not looked back since.

“If I chose soccer, I would have had to transfer to another school,” she said, explaining the decision. “But if I chose archery, I could stay at my existing school.”

A decade later, she’s a professional archer, travelling – and winning – around the world.

The next stop and challenge for Lim and her in-form teammates is the Hyundai World Archery Championships in Berlin, where it is no doubt seen as essential that they challenge for the medals.

“As a team, we are aiming to win the team title to qualify for the Olympics next year, and if possible, I’d like to win the individual title as well,” she said.

The individual event… often seen as the icing on the cake for members of the Korean team.

But the team competition. Since the introduction of the quota system, Korea’s women have never failed to qualify at the first time of asking. Since the introduction of the team competition at the Olympic Games, Korea’s women have never lost. With every arrow that extends that perfect run, the pressure mounts.

“I’m always full of confidence with my great teammates,” said Lim.