Does China’s clean sweep in Puebla threaten Korean dominance at the 2026 Asian Games?
The first Hyundai Archery World Cup of 2026 delivered a genuinely historic moment: the first nation to achieve a clean sweep of the women’s individual podium apart from Korea.
China’s youthful trio of Zhu Jingyi, Yu Qi and Huang Yuwei – aged 19, 18 and 21 – achieved the feat, adding team and mixed team gold, with Zhu completing a rare triple World Cup victory to move fourth in the world rankings.
Korea’s women have managed three World Cup podium sweeps, the first by Kang Chaeyoung, Choi Misun and Ki Bo Bae at Shanghai 2015 – notably the debut appearance for both Misun and Chaeyoung. They repeated the feat at Medellin 2022 and Shanghai 2023, both also involving Kang.
The remarkable result in Puebla came in the absence of Korea’s recurve squad, who are still selecting their teams for the season. It should not diminish an achievement that may still cause some concern in Jincheon in an Asian Games year – especially as it was achieved without Li Jiaman, China’s most successful recurve woman in recent seasons.
The Asian Games remains one of the most important events for the region’s leading nations, in archery and beyond. This year’s edition will be held in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, with the archery competition staged in the coastal city of Okazaki.
One of the largest multisport events outside the Olympics, the last edition in Hangzhou in 2022 welcomed more athletes than the Games in Paris. Winning an Asian Games medal carries significance comparable to Olympic success – particularly for the Korean archery team.
Korea’s women have long dominated the team event, mirroring their Olympic record, although China claimed gold in 1994 and has finished runner-up on six occasions.
It is tempting to wonder if this is the year China goes one better again. The Korean women’s Olympic team streak came under real pressure in Paris, yet they still found a way to deliver when it mattered.
On the individual women’s podium at the Asian Games, Zhang Xinyan was the most recent Chinese athlete to break through, winning gold in 2018. Zhang has since switched to compound and made a notable international appearance at last year’s Hyundai Archery World Cup Final.
China’s archers train in the tropical climate of Hainan – sometimes called ‘China’s Hawaii’ – allowing year-round outdoor shooting, as well as in Beijing, where constant, shifting winds add another layer of difficulty. A demanding training day can include up to 500 arrows.
The team in Mexico – who listed shopping, TikTok, billiards and fishing among their hobbies – were asked what made the difference.
“We’re not that strong; we’re just very young and full of energy. Our success in this competition can largely be attributed to our unwavering execution.”
“It was a great experience [in Puebla]. We will continue to work hard like this in the future. We are still young and will face many challenges in the future. We always believe in each other, no matter what happens. Be brave and don’t hesitate.”
Korea’s dominance in the recurve women’s category has been questioned before, and each time they have responded when it mattered most. But after the performances in Mexico, there is little doubt that this young Chinese team is definitely capable of upsetting the apple cart.
