As he searches for his first individual medal of the season, Kim Woojin gave himself the best possible chance on Wednesday by topping recurve men’s qualification at Madrid 2026 – the fourth and final stage of the Hyundai Archery World Cup.
The three-time Paris 2024 Olympic gold medallist shot the most 10s (31) and joint-most Xs (20), alongside compatriot Kim Je Deok, to finish on 695 points at Vallehermoso Stadium – four clear of Antalya 2026 stage winner Dhiraj Bommadevara – and claim the top seed from a field of 115 archers, the largest recurve men’s field of the season.
It is Woojin’s first top qualification of 2026 and his first at a Hyundai Archery World Cup since Shanghai 2025, where he went on to win the individual title.
“I haven't won an individual medal this season yet,” said the all-time great after the evening session, which began at 16h30 local time after Tuesday’s thunderstorm forced the compound 1/48 eliminations into Wednesday morning.
“Well, I prepared hard for the individual events, but it seems like luck hasn't been on my side this season. However, I will do my utmost to achieve better results in the Madrid World Cup and reach the highest podium.”
“I set the best score and I am very happy to be featured again in this World Cup. Since I have set a new record for this season, I will do my best to achieve good results in this World Cup.”
Given his pedigree, few would have doubted Woojin’s ability to return to the top of qualification after more modest performances in Shanghai and Antalya.
What has been more surprising is his individual match record this season.
In Shanghai, he was drawn against Mete Gazoz in the quarterfinals – a difficult challenge for any archer – and lost a shoot-off after both shot nines, with Gazoz’s arrow closer to the centre.
In Antalya, he exited even earlier, losing 7-3 to Wei Chun-Heng of Chinese Taipei.
World Cups are often part of Woojin’s preparation for larger targets, such as September’s Asian Games, and the five-time Hyundai Archery World Cup Champion rarely shows much emotion during the circuit.
After those two defeats, however, the 34-year-old appeared visibly frustrated, although he responded by winning recurve men’s team gold alongside Je Deok and Lee Woo Seok at both stages, as well as recurve mixed team silver with Oh Yejin in Shanghai.
Wednesday’s performance brought a much brighter mood.
“The wind today was quite tough, and it seemed like many players struggled,” he added. “However, by shooting with more confidence and focusing on the direction where the wind was right, I think I was able to shoot good scores again this year.”
Woojin and the rest of the field return to action on Thursday for recurve team eliminations, followed by recurve mixed team competition later in the day.
Top seeds: Madrid 2026
Full results on the event page.
Recurve men
- Kim Woojin, Korea – 695
- Dhiraj Bommadevara, India – 691
- Baptiste Addis, France – 688
Six archers shot 680+.
Recurve women
- Li Jiaman, China – 673
- Marie Horackova, Czechia – 671
- Oh Yejin, Korea – 668
Eleven archers shot 660+.
