For decades, Korea has been the gold standard in Olympic archery, the singular force against which all others have been measured. The country has won 27 gold medals and 43 medals in total in the sport, more than any other country.
In the buildup to the Paris Olympics, where five gold medals will be at stake, the aura of invincibility, however, has been nonexistent.
At the latest Archery World Cup stop in Antalya, Turkey, held earlier this month, Korea failed to win an individual medal in the women’s recurve event. Kim Woo-jin won the men’s recurve title, but he was the only Korean to reach the podium in an individual event. The Antalya World Cup was the last international event before Paris.
Korea swept the men’s and women’s team gold medals, though concerns remain over their individual performances. This was the first World Cup in 10 years in which Korea didn’t produce a medalist in women’s recurve.
With the Olympics now 30 days away, Kim Je-deok, about to make his second straight appearance, declared Wednesday there is no need to worry about his team.
“This is all part of the process for the Olympics. Just because we were knocked out early at the World Cup, it doesn’t mean we are not taking things seriously,” Kim said during the media day organized by the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee at the Jincheon National Training Center in Jincheon, 85 kilometers southeast of Seoul. “Everyone is working hard. And we’ve reworked our training venue to resemble the competition site in Paris, and I think it’s going to have a positive impact on our preparation. I don’t think there’s anything we have to worry about.”
Kim himself was gone after the round of 32 in Antalya, but the 20-year-old said his confidence in himself has never wavered.
Kim won two gold medals in his Olympic debut in Tokyo as a teenage sensation, and he said he is now ready to put the lessons he’s learned over the past three years to good use in Paris.
“I’ve learned how to get the best out of myself even when I am not feeling 100 percent physically,” Kim said. “I feel like I can compete with a lot of confidence even under intense pressure. At my first Olympics, I didn’t really know what 스포츠토토존 was going on. And I think I’ve grown so much over the past three years, and I feel like I’ve earned this opportunity to compete at another Olympics.”
In Tokyo, Kim helped Korea repeat as the champion in the men’s team event. The country is now going for its third straight gold in the men’s team competition. Korea had also pulled off the “three-peat” in that discipline from 2000 to 2008, and no other country has even won back-to-back Olympic titles in the men’s team event.
“My biggest goal in Paris is to win the men’s team gold medal,” Kim said. “This is a great opportunity that I absolutely don’t want to miss.”
On the men’s team, Kim Je-deok and Kim Woo-jin both have Olympic experience, while the third member, Lee Woo-seok, is a veteran of two world titles and two Asian Games gold medals.
It’s a much different story for the women’s team, where Lim Si-hyeon, a triple gold medalist at last year’s Asian Games, is the only member with experience in big competitions. Jeon Hun-young, 30, and Nam Su-hyeon, 19, have never competed at the Asian Games or Olympics before.
Head coach Hong Seung-jin acknowledged the lack of experience for Jeon and Nam but added, “They bring other qualities to the table.
“People expect us to win three gold medals, and I think we can easily meet that target,” Hong said. “We have 30 days to go, and I think we can win a couple more gold medals with good preparation.”