News

Lei Chien-Ying named to Chinese Taipei team for Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games

7 December 2019

Taipei City, Chinese Taipei

Real name:

Olympic trials have started in Chinese Taipei but World Archery Champion Lei Chien-Ying is not taking part – because she’s already been named to the squad for Tokyo 2020.

“I found out after I won my semifinal at the worlds. I was so concentrated on qualifying the team spots I didn’t notice but my coach told me before the final,” she said.

Taipei trials procedure dictated that a world championship podium meant automatic selection for the Olympic squad.

Lei beat world-number-one Kang Chae Young in a shoot-off in the recurve women’s ’s-Hertogenbosch 2019 Hyundai World Archery Championships + OG QT World Ranking Event to become Chinese Taipei’s first-ever individual world champion.

Taipei was also one of just four squads – with Korea, China and Great Britain – to qualify both men’s and women’s team quotas for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the worlds.

Lei will fill one of those spots. The trials to decide who takes the other five (two women and three men) are now underway.

Over 120 archers – 76 men and 52 women – entered the first phase of selection, which finished with cuts to 16 athletes of each gender on 6 December.

The second stage of the trials will take place on 24-27 December, after which the 16-strong fields will be cut in half to eight, and the third on 14-16 January.

Each phase is a different format. The first saw archers shoot six 72-arrow 70-metre ranking rounds, the second will be a standard head-to-head bracket with repechage and round-robin matchplay is planned for the third.

It’s in stark contrast to the format of the trials in Japan, which also started recently, that will see the home team selected purely on ranking round results.

Although she’s not taking part, Lei is watching Taipei’s selection process intently.

“The intensity and tension are quite strong during trials. It’s a good opportunity to overcome nerves and improve your weaknesses,” she said.

“I think whoever wins in these nerve-wracking situations will be a good team member and I believe the whole team will do their very best at the Olympic Games in Tokyo.”

Lei Chien-Ying, Tan Ya-Ting and Lin Shih-Chia won recurve women’s team bronze at the 2016 Olympics.

Chinese Taipei has won three medals in the history of archery at the Games – one silver and two bronze – all in team events.