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Oh Yejin not letting guard down after career first pole at Antalya 2026

9 June 2026

Antalya, Türkiye

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Oh Yejin sticking her thumbs up at Antalya 2026.

Oh Yejin was not rushing to any conclusions after she positioned herself at the top of the recurve women's field, securing her maiden World Cup pole position at Antalya 2026 - the third stage of the 2026 premier international circuit.

The Suwon 2024 Asia Cup winner - where she was also the number one seed - was tied on points at the top of the halfway stage with Puebla [stage one] victor and Shanghai [stage two] silver medallist Zhu Jingyi - both on 339 - but the Chinese archer edged ahead due to one more X at the time.

The four-point gap between them and the nearest challenger at the halfway stage, Kang Chaeyoung (335), suggested it would be a game of who could blink first to take the top seed in southern Türkiye.

Rather impressively, neither did. Jingyi maintained her consistency by posting another 339 in the second batch of arrows, but Yejin - in her first World Cup season - did one better and in fact pulled away, finding the 10-zone six more times than her counterpart overall and thus finishing on 684, 10 points off Lim Sihyeon's world record (694).

“It feels good for starters,” said Yejin, whose score today also signified a new personal best at an international 70 metres event. “Since this is just the qualification round, I’m not letting my guard down. I don’t usually get very nervous, so whether I’m on the final stage or not doesn’t seem to make much of a difference.”

“The main difference from Shanghai was that I was able to showcase more of what I’d been practising - my own flow.”

In stark contrast to the Chinese compound men's team this morning at the Gloria Sports Arena, who were visibly beyond belief that they had reached the gold medal match, Yejin appeared visibly content at the very best.

If you hadn't known how old she was - just 22 - the 82-strong recurve women's athlete contingent would have thought it was her umpteenth World Cup, not her second, and that international 72-arrow rounds were the norm rather than a unique scenario; such was her calm aura.

Oh Yejin looking on just after releasing an arrow at Antalya 2026.

But controlling the heartbeat is what has made Korea's programmes stand out from the rest of the world for so many years, and even more so for their women's team, who in Paris 2024 won their 10th consecutive Olympic gold.

The Limerick 2023 World Youth champion Yejin seeded second in Shanghai behind Jingyi, and it would be no surprise if these two sharp shooters encounter one another this week on the Mediterranean coast, which would be their first head-to-head meeting.

Jingyi, however, is in the form of her life.

Although her score of 678 - still very impressive - was six points behind Yejin, she is storming away this season, notching all three possible golds in Puebla and two silvers in Shanghai [recurve women individual and mixed team], and appears to be the archer in form to halt any further Korean individual dominance in the recurve women's category.

“After the whole competition in Shanghai, I encountered a lot of problems,” revealed the Gwangju 2025 World Championship runner-up. “Recently, I've been adjusting at home, solidifying my fundamentals so I can perform well in this competition. I felt relaxed and more at ease. Mentally, I think I have more faith in myself. I'm not as discouraged.”

“I think my playing style was very similar in both rounds, so I felt relaxed and knew exactly how to execute the release and how to execute a perfect ten-ring shot. I felt very happy and relaxed today.”

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