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Korea draws level in two-nation race to top Asian Games medal table

6 October 2023

Hangzhou, China

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The recurve women’s team podium at the Asian Games.

Korea and India sit tied at the top of the medal table at the Asian Games after the former won both the recurve men’s and women’s team titles on the penultimate day of competition to bring its total tally to three gold medals.

Only four individual events remain to be decided.

India is guaranteed to win one, Korea another, one will be contested by archers from China and Mongolia – and the compound women’s final, between India’s Jyothi Surekha Vennam and Korea’s So Chaewon, will decide which of the two countries wins the overall medal count in Hangzhou.

Should Vennam win, it would be the first time Korea had not topped the medal table at the Asian Games since 1978, when archery made its debut at the multisport event. Japan won three of the four available golds then.

After India won both compound team titles yesterday, Korea had to sweep today’s recurve podiums to keep the race alive.

Perhaps not such a big ask for the men, the top seeds, world number ones and entirely unbeaten in competition this season – but for the women, who had a disastrous world championships, a result here was nothing short of mandatory.

Choi Misun, Lim Sihyeon and An San began their campaign on Friday by exercising any demons from the worlds in Berlin, defeating Indonesia – the team that authored the upset in Germany – in the quarterfinals.

“I made the mistake of shooting a seven,” said Misun. (The other five arrows shot by Korea in that set were 10s.) “But I made up for it in the semifinals and it ended perfectly.”

A comfortable four-set win over India in the semifinals set up a high-drama final with the host. It was tight from the start – the Chinese archers buoyed by a thunderous crowd – both teams opening with 58s.

“The audience’s voice was loud,” said Lim afterwards. “We competed harder.”

The Koreans simply minimised mistakes, ultimately shooting two 10s to close the fourth set to win it, 57-54, and the match, 5-3.

“I worked hard with my teammates to win and I’m very proud,” said An San, who was archery’s first-ever triple gold medallist at the Olympics in Tokyo. It is Lim, rather than An, who has a chance to win three events here in Hangzhou.

She already had one win in the mixed team event, now a second in the women’s team – and will face the Olympic Champion in the individual final tomorrow.

“I’m ready,” said An San, before returning to the practice field.

The Korean recurve men have been very, very good in 2023.

Through four major events and 16 matches during the season, they hadn’t lost once. Fifty-two total sets, just four lost. But in every single one of those sets, those matches and those events, the team was anchored by Kim Woojin.

In Hangzhou, as the fourth qualifier on the squad, Woojin didn’t even take to the field.

No matter. Another four matches without a set lost, culminating in a 5-1 victory over India. And Kim Je Deok, Lee Woo Seok and Oh Jin Hyek reclaimed the Asian Games title so cruelly stolen from them (first by China, then by Chinese Taipei) since 2014.

“It’s a great pleasure to finally win this coveted title,” said Woo Seok.

“Woojin and the other players were supporting us, cheering us on and giving us great strength. This is a result of our mutual trust, sharing in the joy of the gold medal with our teammates. We did a great job.”

This is 42-year-old Jin Hyek’s fifth medal and third gold at the Asian Games.

He was individual winner in 2014 – and team champion in 2010, the last time the Korean men held this particular crown.

Competition concludes at the Asian Games with individual finals on Saturday.