South Korea’s archery queens assumed their traditional place at the top of the ranking round for the London Games on Friday, but the US pushed them close and may feel this is the year to end the Asian powerhouse’s Olympic dominance, while Taiwan was ranked third.
Hours after South Korea’s men set individual and world records in the 72 arrow ranking round, Ki Bo-bae, Lee Sung-jin and Choi Hyeon-ju posted 1,993 points out of a possible 2,160.
Each arrow can score a maximum of 10 points for hitting the center of a target 70m away.
PHOTO: EPA
Ki and Lee both shot 671, as did Taiwan’s Tan Ya-ting, while the US’ Khatuna Lorig shot 669 in fourth. The scores gave South Korea the top team ranking, followed by the US, Taiwan and Mexico.
South Korea’s women have been the dominant force in archery for more than 20 years, winning 12 of the last 13 gold medals, with only China’s Zhang Juanjuan denying them a perfect record by winning the individual title in Beijing.
However, the gap between them and the rest of the world has been narrowing, thanks in part to Korean coaches plying their trade around the world and growing global interest in the sport, particularly in the US.
In archery, as with any sport, a team is only as strong as its weakest link, and South Korea’s Choi struggled on her Olympic debut.
“It was her first Olympics so she was nervous,” Korea coach Jang Young-sool said. “She will build up her confidence and get stronger. To be in 38th after the halfway stage was not very good. The most important thing is the posture, but because of the pressure of the Olympics, she made a lot of mistakes. She was thinking about these things and that unsettled her.”
The US, under the guidance of acclaimed Korean coach Lee Ki-sik, have risen steadily up the world rankings and with five-time Olympian Lorig anchoring a team that also includes Miranda Leek and Jennifer Nichols, they are definitely in the medal hunt.
“We’re absolutely satisfied, we did really well today, some ups and downs, but in general we did well,” said Lorig, who coached actress Jennifer Lawrence on how to shoot for the film The Hunger Games. “I just want to start with one shot each time and see what happens. We all want the gold medal, if not we’ll get silver, we’ll take bronze, any medal, but gold would be good.”
The women’s team finals take place today at Lord’s Cricket Ground.
HOMETOWN ZERO: Fans relished the fall of former Brewer-turned-Cubs manager Craig Counsell, as Milwaukee braces to face the Dodgers, who in 2018 denied them a pennant Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy has referred to his team as the “Average Joes,” a nod to their small-market status and lack of big names, but after they beat rivals the Chicago Cubs 3-1 in the decisive fifth game of their National League Division Series (NLDS) on Saturday night, Murphy decided it was time for an upgrade. “You can call them the average Joes, but I say they’re the above-average Joes,” he said. The Brewers relied on contributions from just about every player to get past the Cubs. Andrew Vaughn hit a tiebreaking homer in the fourth inning, and William Contreras and Brice
Mexico’s teenage playmaker Gilberto Mora has lit up the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile as he basks in the limelight afforded by the absences of Barcelona and Real Madrid stars Lamine Yamal and Franco Mastantuono. “I don’t know if I’m the biggest star, and I’m not really interested in that. I think you can always give more,” 16-year-old Mora said before Mexico’s 4-1 win against host nation Chile in the round-of-16 on Tuesday, in which he provided the assist for the opening goal. Next on Mora’s schedule is a quarter-final clash against Argentina this morning Taiwan time, but after
‘SOMETHING SPECIAL’: Nathan Lukes hit a two-run single and Addison Barger had three of Toronto’s 12 hits as the Blue Jays bounced back After taking down the storied New York Yankees in their own ballpark in their American League Division Series on Wednesday, Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider was ready to revel in the triumph. “Start spreading the news,” Schneider said while popping a bottle of bubbly to set off the Blue Jays’ jubilant celebration inside their Yankee Stadium clubhouse. With the party under way, the familiar lyrics from Frank Sinatra’s version of New York, New York — the Yankees’ long-time victory anthem — sounded in the background as roaring Toronto players sprayed each other with booze in the Bronx. This time, it was their
‘IT’S BASEBALL’: In just the second error to end a post-season series in the MLB, the Phillies reliever fumbled a comebacker and threw to home, despite the signal Eyes red, Orion Kerkering on Thursday received words of support from his Philadelphia Phillies teammates. “Just keep your head up. It’s an honest mistake. Just, it’s baseball,” he remembered hearing. “You’ll be good for a long time to come,” they added. “It’s not my fault, then. We had opportunities to score,” was the message he kept getting. Kerkering made a wild throw past home plate instead of tossing to first after mishandling Andy Pages’ bases-loaded comebacker with two outs in the 11th inning. Pinch-runner Kim Hye-seong scored and the Phillies were eliminated with a 2-1 loss that gave the Los Angeles Dodgers a
RSS