Chinese Taipei upsets off-pace Korean men in recurve semifinals

The recurve men’s team from Chinese Taipei upset Korea in the semifinals, 5-1, to make a gold medal match against Turkey at the second stage of the 2019 Hyundai Archery World Cup in Shanghai, China.

Deng Yu-Cheng, Wei Chun-Heng and Tang Chih-Chun took the match in three sets with a pair of 56s and a 57, outclassing a slightly off-pace Kim Woojin, Lee Woo Seok and Lee Seungyun. The Korean trio, who took a convincing victory at the first stage in Medellin, shot two sets of 55 points and one of 57.

“Wei and I were part of the team that beat Korea at the Asian Games last year, so we followed our coach’s advice to not worry and to just focus on our own arrows,” said Tang. He, Wei and Lou Wei Min, beat Korea, 5-3, in the final of the Jakarta 2018 Asian Games.

In Shanghai, the Taipei team had 20-year-old Deng Yu-Cheng instead of Lou. Deng said having experienced teammates was key.

“I feel very happy. My teammates helped me out. I followed what they did and trusted myself,” he added.

Chinese Taipei’s opponent for Shanghai gold is Turkey, represented by Mete Gazoz, Fatih Bozlar and Samet Ak.

The bronze medal match will see Md Ruman Shana, Mohammad Hakim Ahmed Rubel, Tamimul Islam Mohammad of Bangladesh shooting in the country’s first finals appearance.

“The feeling was so good. We have good teamwork, shooting was good and we didn’t have any problem,” said Ruman Shana. The debutant finalists will have a tough match-up against first-seeded Korea.

​The second stage of the 2019 Hyundai Archery World Cup takes place in Shanghai, China on 6-12 May.