Preview: Li Jiaman – on course for a title defence?

At the Tlaxcala 2024 Hyundai Archery World Cup Final, China’s Li Jiaman became the third Chinese woman to win the title, dismantling a field that included Korea’s Jeon Hunyoung and beating an unfortunate Deepika Kumari – a five-time World Cup Final runner-up – in straight sets in the gold medal match on stage in Mexico.

It was Li’s first Final, and a victory that China had been waiting for for a long time. The previous Chinese winner was Cheng Ming in Istanbul in 2011 – who also beat Kumari in the gold medal match.

Before that came the legendary Zhang Juan Juan, who won the very first Hyundai Archery World Cup Final in 2006, two years before her Olympic triumph at Beijing 2008. (Zhang’s teammate from the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, He Ying, would later become Li’s coach.)

Li has made two podiums this year – both bronze medals – in Florida and Madrid. In the first semifinal, she lost to Penny Healey; in the second, to Kang Chaeyoung. Both will be in the draw in Nanjing. But is the pressure on – or off?

The finals for the recurve women in Nanjing start at 10h00 (local) on Sunday 19 October. Live stream with a subscription to archery+.

Line-up

The top two seeds are listed in bold and will be placed at opposite ends of the bracket. A match draw will determine the positions of the remaining archers.

• Kang Chaeyoung, Korea (stage winner, reigning World Archery Champion)
• Li Jiaman, China (defending champion)
• Penny Healey, Great Britain (stage winner)
• An San, Korea
• Casey Kaufhold, USA
• Michelle Kroppen, Germany
• Hsu Hsin-Tzu, Chinese Taipei
• Zhu Jingyi, China

Bold prediction

Two stage winners this year – Lim Sihyeon and Lee Gahyun, both from Korea – did not take up their invitations to the Final, opening the door for An San to represent Korean interests.

The top two seeds, Kang and Li, will be placed in opposite halves of the draw, and it’s easy to imagine a final between them: the reigning World Archery Champion versus the reigning World Cup Final Champion.

For Kang, it would be her third World Cup Final title after wins in Moscow 2019 and Hermosillo 2023. Her arrow average this season is the highest of all recurvers in Nanjing – including the men. 

But Li isn’t the only Chinese contender in the only category where the host nation looks to have a genuine shot at gold. Zhu Jingyi, who pushed Kang all the way in the final of the Gwangju 2025 Hyundai World Archery Championships, is clearly in strong form too.

A win for either Li or Zhu would send a clear signal that China’s recurve machine is capable of shaking up the world order. In this Asia-focused international year, could this be the start of a power shift? It’s a stretch – but not impossible. China’s women came close, incredibly close, in Paris to upsetting the biggest apple cart of all: the women’s team title.

Everyone on the start list is capable of making the final. Kang is likely the favourite – but the host nation might just take this one.