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Jang Minhee begins World Cup journey with pole position in Shanghai

6 May 2026

Shanghai, China

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Jang Minhee doing a thumbs up after poling at Shanghai 2026.

Jang Minhee wasted no time settling into the World Cup scene as she emphatically took top seed in recurve women at the second stage of the 2026 Hyundai Archery World Cup circuit in Shanghai.

The Yankton 2021 World Archery Champion headed a Korean one-two-three-four in qualification but sat outside the top five at the halfway stage with 328, occupying the lowest position among the formidable Korean quartet – which, remarkably, does not include the two previous Olympic Champions Sihyeon Lim and An San.

In the second half, however, Minhee’s quality came to the fore as she placed 22 arrows into the 10-ring, including five Xs – the X-ring being the central zone within the 10-ring used to break ties in qualification – in the final end, to open a four-point gap over second-placed Oh Yejin and finish on 674.

“I took first place in qualification at my first World Cup appearance, so obviously I’m very happy,” said Minhee, who narrowly missed out on Korea’s Asian Games squad in last month’s trials. “I was thinking, ‘Since this is the last round, let’s finish it off well and have fun.’”

“I didn’t care much about the wind, I just believed in myself and tried to do my best. I focused on my aiming and the result was good.”

Although the second-oldest member of Korea’s women’s team – two years younger than 29-year-old Kang Chaeyoung, who also shot 670 but with fewer Xs than Yejin – Minhee is among the quieter personalities on the squad and did not dwell long on her performance at Yuanshen Sports Centre, instead quietly enjoying the moment.

It almost seemed as though she expected a result like this on her World Cup debut despite her lack of experience on the international circuit.

Arriving in Shanghai after falling short in the Asian Games trials may also have provided additional motivation and, judging by the way Minhee mastered the unpredictable gusts inside the stadium venue rather than faded under pressure, her composure already makes her the archer to beat in recurve women.

Given Korea’s history in the category and this result, Minhee appears primed to join the nation’s long list of World Cup gold medallists, as could Yejin and Lee Yunji – two other debutants on the tour.

While Minhee knew exactly what was required to secure top seed, Chinese Taipei’s Tang Chih-Chun needed to be told he had finished first in recurve men.

The Puebla silver medallist arrived in Shanghai in excellent form but appeared surprised when photographers asked him to pose for the end-of-day pictures, unaware he had finished ahead of the 89-athlete recurve men’s field.

“During the competition, we were all very focused on our own movements,” he said. “It’s just a ranking, and I told myself to focus on that ranking, whatever it may be.”

“For this competition, I hope to get first place individually. So, with that goal in mind, I concentrated on the ranking matches, focusing on things I hadn’t paid special attention to, and so the final results [of qualification] were a bit of a surprise.”.

“I don’t usually pay much attention to results because focusing on past outcomes easily makes me nervous, and that might lead to a poor performance,” he added when asked whether checking live scores affects him.

Tang pushed Brady Ellison all the way in Puebla before falling 6-4 in the final. Judging by his score of 690 and his calm demeanour – unusual for a 25-year-old athlete competing at this level – he looks ready to go one step further in Shanghai and claim his maiden individual World Cup gold.

Action resumes tomorrow in Shanghai with recurve team eliminations in the morning, followed by compound and recurve mixed team eliminations in the late afternoon.