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On the shores of the Huangpu River, the crowd, including IOC Member Mrs Yang YANG and former basketball star Yao MING, gave a warm welcome to the Chinese team, led by Olympic bronze medallist DAI Xiaoxiang, as they took the field for the men’s gold medal match against top qualifier Korea. The Korean team was comprised of LEE Seungyun, Olympic champion OH Jin Hyek, and world No. 2 IM Dong Hyun, who was added for his experience despite being only the fourth ranked Korean in qualifications. The Koreans were communicating frequently during the match, giving each other information on where to aim in the strong wind coming from the river. They led 58-47 after the first end, and with solid and consistent shooting, made it impossible for the Chinese athletes to come back despite the support of the crowd. Korea clinched the match 218-203 for the gold medal, marking their dominance over the recurve men’s division and their return to the top after losing the Olympic crown last year.
The top two young teams from Europe, France (No. 5) and the Netherlands (No. 3), fought for the bronze medal: the World Championships team silver medallists Thomas AUBERT, Gaël PREVOST, and Jean-Charles VALLADONT, versus the European champions Sjef VAN DEN BERG, Rick VAN DEN OEVER and Rick VAN DER VEN. The French archers won the match in the first end, during which they built a fourteen-point lead. As the Dutch team had difficulty finding the 10, the French team continued shooting in a relaxed and smiling manner, for a victory 213-197, adding a bronze medal to the silver they won last year in Shanghai.
The women’s final featured surprising Ukraine (No. 6) and Chinese Taipei (No. 5), who dramatically upset Olympic champions Korea in semi-final. Chinese Taipei, composed and relaxed despite very challenging windy conditions, put pressure on their opponents from the first end, building a gap of fifteen points. Over the match, they had only one arrow out of the gold, for a 213-193 victory and a well-deserved first World Cup team gold medal. The very young LIN Fang-Yu (20), TAN Ya-Ting (19) and WU Chia-Hung (17) will be a team to watch in the future! Ukraine’s Viktoriya KOVAL, Anastasia PAVLOVA and Lidiia SICHENIKOVA (photo) silver medallists offered their country its first World Cup team podium finish in three years.
In the bronze medal match, multi-time Olympic and World Cup team champions Korea left no chance to Germany (No. 2). CHANG Hye Jin, JOO Hyun Jung and KI Bo Bae built a solid margin in the first end and clinched the match with two arrows remaining (final score: 210-182).
The competition continues this afternoon with the mixed team and individual finals.
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