(LEAD) (Asiad) S. Korea takes bronze in mixed team recurve archery event
OKAZAKI, Japan, Oct. 2 (Yonhap) -- South Korea won the mixed team bronze medal in recurve archery at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Friday, unable to take gold in its second straight archery event here.
Kang Chae-young and Kim Je-deok defeated Nanami Asakuno and Junya Nakanishi of Japan by the set score of 5-1 in the bronze medal match at Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Multipurpose Square in Okazaki, some 50 kilometers southeast of the main host city, Nagoya.
Kang Chae-young (L) and Kim Je-deok of South Korea pose with their bronze medals won in the mixed team event in recurve archery at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games at Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Multipurpose Square in Okazaki, Japan, on Oct. 2, 2026. (Yonhap)
The mixed team event in recurve made its Asian Games debut in 2018. South Korea won gold in 2023, but Kang and Kim failed to make it two in a row after losing to Zhu Jingyi and Liu Mengqi of China 6-0 in the semifinals earlier Friday.
In mixed team matches, each archer takes two arrows per set for four arrows and a maximum score of 40 points. A set win is worth two points, and teams each get one point for a tie. The first team to five points is the winner.
Kang and Kim barely put up a fight against Zhu and Liu in the semifinals. With his six arrows across three sets, Kim hit two 7s and one 8. Kang had four 8s.
Then in the bronze medal match, the South Korean team scored 39 points to Japan's 35 in the opening set for a 2-0 lead. The teams each shot a 37, as South Korea extended its lead to 3-1.
South Korea then closed out Japan with a 37-35 win in the third set.
Kim Je-deok (L) and Kang Chae-young of South Korea compete in the bronze medal match of the mixed team event in recurve archery at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games at Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Multipurpose Square in Okazaki, Japan, on Oct. 2, 2026. (Yonhap)
"Having a medal is better than not having any," Kim said. "Obviously, I wanted something shinier, but I just didn't perform well enough. Honestly, I was pretty shaken up after the semifinals. But Chae-young really picked me up with her words. I am grateful for her support."
Kang said she enjoyed training with Kim for the mixed team event and said Kim would regroup for the men's team event coming up later Friday.
Earlier in the day, Kang, Oh Ye-jin and Lee Yun-ji lost to India in the final of the women's team event, as South Korea's Asiad winning streak ended at seven.
"I tried to keep positive thoughts in my mind, but I think my mind became too weak in the wind," Kang said of her showing in the women's event. "At least I was able to come back and win this bronze with Je-deok."
As for his own struggles in blustery conditions, Kim said: "I think athletes have to do their best under any circumstances and create the best outcomes. I will not make any excuses here. I will accept this result."
KioskNews shows a cleaned-up reading view extracted from the publisher’s page — the original always lives on their site, not ours.