15 August 2008 - RUBAN (UKR) squashes Korean hopes for individual title

RUBAN (UKR) squashes Korean hopes for individual title  Beijing -15 August 2008 Viktor RUBAN (UKR)    Viktor RUBAN (UKR) prevented PARK Kyung-Mo (KOR) from winning Korea's first men's individual Olympic title with the very last arrow of their gold medal match at the Olympic Green Archery Field on Friday.   In a tightly-contested gold medal match, the No. 3 seed RUBAN defeated the No. 4 seed PARK 113-112.   RUBAN was lucky to have been in the gold medal match having barely made it through the semi-finals. To shoot in the gold medal match, RUBAN had to break a 112-112 tie with Bair BADENOV (RUS) in a two-arrow shoot off.   PARK, who celebrates his birthday today, was also lucky to have been in the gold medal match. He almost didn't make it into the top four, having tied Juan Carlos STEVENS (CUB) in the quarterfinal match 108-108. On a two-arrow shoot off, PARK launched a 10 to break the tie. PARK then beat Juan Rene SERRANO (MEX) in the semi-finals, 115-112.   RUBAN will add his individual gold medal to his team bronze won at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games. PARK will add his individual silver medal won in Beijing to his two team gold medals from the Athens Games and the Beijing Games.     In the bronze medal match, the No. 31 seed BADENOV defeated the No. 1 seed SERRANO, 110-105.    Juan Carlos STEVENS was fifth, Ryuichi MORIYA (JPN) sixth, Victor WUNDERLE (USA) seventh and CHENG Chu Sian (MAS) eighth.   ONS jf/skh/et/adg