The London 2012 Olympic champion, Oh Jin Hyek, has returned to the national team as the men’s recurve team coach for this outdoor season, as the Korean federation and other Asian nations prepare for the 20th Asian Games in Japan in September.
Oh was a familiar and distinctive figure in the Korea team for much of the 2010s; as well as his breakthrough in London at the age of 30, he won the individual Asian Games title in 2014 and was part of the men’s team that took the team gold at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. The only big title he never won was the World Championships, where he won individual silver – twice.
Oh finally retired in 2023, having transitioned into a player-coach role at his Hyundai Steel team. While almost all coaches are former archers, few have quite the stellar resume that Oh has managed. “Having played on that pitch, I understand the mindset,” he said.
“I suppose as an archer, I was perhaps a bit too preoccupied with winning and losing, but when I watch from the sidelines, I can see the process of how the match unfolds in much greater detail. I can remind them of the aspects they might overlook or miss. The archers can pick up on those points and turn the match around immediately.”
He takes charge of the same extraordinary team that dominated in Paris 2024 – Kim Woojin, Lee Woo Seok and Kim Je Deok – the latter two of which competed with Oh at the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games where they won team gold, in Oh's last major competition.
What’s it going to be like, coaching athletes you know so well and who are already so successful?
“I don't want to teach them what I do. They're already doing well so I have to help them do what they do right. They have their own strengths, and I will pay attention to those strengths,” he said.
“I never imagined Woojin would develop to this extent, and as I spent time with him, I found myself hoping he’d do well, and he did. He’s grown so much.”
Despite his long list of medals at major competitions, Oh missed out on competing at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, coming fourth in the trials that year – according to him, he lost a place by just a single point.
“Because of my experience [in London], I was kind of obsessed with the Olympics. My life changed when I went there, and so I felt I had failed.” It was all the more remarkable that he managed to return to the Korean team in 2021 for Tokyo – just a few weeks shy of his 40th birthday and 12 years after he first made his international debut for Korea.
Oh was also well-known for an unconventional technique by Korean standards, and struggled with injury in his later years competing. “The biggest difference between shooting when I was young and shooting in my 40s, just before I retired, was definitely the physical aspect. When I was younger, I used to feel a lot of subtle sensations, but as I shot the bow and got older, the physical demands took over, and I ended up using my large muscles to shoot.”
“Consequently, I couldn’t shoot with the same precision, and that was the most difficult part. It was a bit of a struggle not being able to consistently achieve high scores. That was a challenge, but I’m always trying my best.”
“But there are older archers doing really well, like Brady Ellison. It’s something the athlete has to experience for themselves, so how they think about it, and how they overcome it, is a challenge they have to solve themselves.”
With another Korean legend, Im Dong Hyun having successfully moved into coaching in Paris, the Korean federation must surely be pleased that they are again going into a major tournament year with such experienced and successful hands both in front of and behind the line.
“We're practicing hard, I‘m giving all my attention to the athletes, and we're doing everything to get the gold medal in the Asian Games. I'll do my best,” said Oh.
With thanks to Iwan Blakeway.
