China to face Korea for fifth time in 15 months at Madrid 2025

China and Korea are set for yet another gold medal match in the recurve women’s team event at Madrid 2025 – the fourth stage of this year’s Hyundai Archery World Cup.

It’s the fifth time in just 15 months that the two powerhouse nations will meet for an international title, having previously clashed at the Shanghai and Yecheon World Cups in 2023, the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and again at Shanghai 2025 two months ago.

The head-to-head currently stands at two wins apiece – though Korea took the most significant, claiming Olympic gold in Paris, and also won the most recent clash, 6-2, in China earlier this year.

“It’s a great honour to shoot in the final for the second time this year,” said China’s Zhu Jingyi, who was part of the team that won gold at the season opener in Central Florida. “It’s a good opportunity to show our hard work, our performance and our confidence from this whole year.”

“We trust the team, we trust each other, we trust the coaches and the teammates, so maybe this is why we’re in another final [this year].”

Reigning Hyundai Archery World Cup Final Champion Li Jiaman and Olympic gold medallist Lim Sihyeon are the only archers who have competed in all four previous meetings between China and Korea. But it was Zhu – the youngest on the field – who stood out most in Madrid, and not just for her shooting.

From the quarterfinal through to the semifinal win over Chinese Taipei, the 18-year-old was visibly and vocally energised – cheering on teammates Li and Bao Yijing with every shot.

You wouldn’t guess it was her debut World Cup season. At Vallehermoso Stadium, Zhu looked every bit the leader.

Her energy on the line echoed that of China’s enthusiastic coach Kwon Yonghak – but Zhu said her constant encouragement was more about calming herself.

“Firstly, it’s a good way to release pressure,” she explained. “And secondly, it’s a good way to support the other two. I was totally focused on the competition and encouraged by the environment.”

Korea, meanwhile, are eyeing Sunday’s final as another opportunity to cement their status as the world’s leading recurve women’s team. And after a semifinal loss to the USA in Antalya earlier this season, their dominant 6-0 win over the Americans in Madrid felt particularly meaningful.

That match saw Lim, Tokyo 2020 Olympic Champion An San and Kang Chaeyoung post sets of 57, 58 and 54 to dismiss Catalina Gnoriega, Jennifer Mucino and Casey Kaufhold – who had stunned Korea in Türkiye to become the first US women’s team to beat them in 20 attempts.

“We were really passionate in this match about getting a great score. We’re very happy together,” said An San. “Even though the wind was really strong, we tried to talk to each other, share the information, so the teamwork was very good.”

Korea will now face China in a decisive fifth meeting in this growing rivalry.

In the recurve men’s event, it was France who celebrated revenge – knocking out Korea 5-3 in the semifinals to book a spot in the final against the USA.

Baptiste Addis, Thomas Chirault and Jean-Charles Valladont dropped a perfect 60 in one end – as did their Korean opponents – but ultimately held on to flip the script after losing the recurve men’s team finals to Kim Woojin, Lee Woo Seok and Kim Je Deok at both Paris 2024 and Shanghai earlier this year.

Competition continues this afternoon in Madrid with compound individual eliminations.

Finals: Madrid 2025

• Recurve men team: France versus USA
• Recurve women team: Korea versus China

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