China shocks Korean women at home University Games in Chengdu

China’s Li Xinxin, Wang Limin and Zhou Danyan shot one point more in a tiebreak to ensure Korea would finish off the top spot of the podium for only the second time in the history of archery at the Summer University Games.

It was one of two wins for the home team on the penultimate day of competition in Chengdu.

“Everyone was nervous but we had to perform at our level despite the tension,” said Li. “Limin was continuously adjusting her aim, and I was doing the same.”

“Only Zhou Danyan remained remarkably composed.”

China forced a shoot-off by taking the fourth set after Olympic team gold medallist Choi Misun was unable to deliver the last 10 needed to finish the match.

The current world number one shot another nine to close the tiebreak, leaving Li needing just to match it to seal the upset victory on home soil. She delivered.

“At least one of us stayed steady,” continued Li. “We supported each other. If you can’t do it, I’ll step up, and vice versa. By maintaining this mindset, and persevering until the end, we believed that victory would be ours.”

Archery has featured at eight editions of the University Games (formerly Universiade) since 2003.

The Korean women had won all but one of them. They were previously upset on home soil in a now-legendary performance from Chinese Taipei.

China added a surprising second gold medal on the day in the compound men’s team competition, while Korea won the recurve men’s team and compound women’s team events.

Japan’s Tetsuya Aoshima and Sonoda Waka topped the recurve mixed team competition, authoring another Korean upset in the final, while India’s Aman Saini and Pragati bagged their country’s first title of this multisport Games in the compound pairs tournament.

Competition at these University Games concludes with individual finals on Sunday in Chengdu.