Korea leads archery medals at 2019 wheelchair and amputee games

Images courtesy IWAS World Games 2019.

The 2019 edition of the International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Games brought more than 500 athletes from 50 countries to compete across seven sports in Sharjah, UAE on 12-16 February.

Archery took place at the Althiqah Club for the Disabled for the last four days of the multisport event.

Korea was dominant in the compound men’s open and men’s W1 competitions.

Lee Ouk Soo beat teammate Go Sung Kil, 133-132, in the compound final; Kweon Hyun Ju took bronze to make it a Korean sweep of the podium. Park Hong Jo won the W1 event ahead of teammate Koo Dong Sub.

“I would still like to win a gold medal in an individual category at the Paralympics before my retirement as an archer,” said compound winner Lee.

The 53-year-old world number 14 won a silver medal at the Asian Para Games in Jakarta in October 2018 and was part of the bronze-medal winning mixed team at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

Korea’s para team train five days a week at a centre run by the nation’s disabled veterans sports council.

The recurve men’s open event saw Thailand’s Hanreuchai Netsiri beat Korea’s Kwak Geonhwi, 6-4, in the gold medal match. Boonyarit Chaipoon secured a second spot on the podium for Thailand, dispatching Kim Kanghun in straight sets in the bronze final.

The two nations split the two mixed team titles at stake in Sharjah; Thailand took recurve gold, Korea the compound title.

The recurve women’s open event was won by India’s Pooja, who defeated Wasana Khuthawisap of Thailand in the final, 6-0.

The International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports World Games is an annual multisport event for athletes with impairment and another legacy of the International Stoke Mandeville Games, the forerunner of the Paralympic Games.

The 2019 IWAS World Games took place on 12-16 February in Sharjah, UAE. Information and results can be found at the IWAS website and on the event's Facebook page.