Taiwan’s recurve mixed team on Sunday won the gold medal at stage 4 of the Hyundai Archery World Cup in Medellin, Colombia, after outshooting the US in the final.
Taiwan’s 32-year-old Olympic medalist Lei Chien-ying (雷千瑩) and 21-year-old Tang Chih-chun (湯智鈞) edged out Casey Kaufhold and Jack Williams of the US 5-4, following a shoot-off as both teams were tied on four set points.
In the shoot-off, Taiwan put up an incredible performance, knocking the lights out with two arrows hitting very close to the center, while a nine from Kaufhold meant the Taiwanese duo topped the podium.
Photo courtesy of the CTAA via CNA
Lei, who could have won the game without going into a shoot-off with a 10 with the final arrow, but instead shot a nine, said her team had a good performance throughout all the stages of the tournament, the result of teamwork and team spirit.
“I’m very happy with our final and winning the gold medal,” Lei said. “Today’s gold medal is good for my self-confidence for the future.”
Lei, an Olympic bronze medalist at the Rio de Janeiro Games in 2016, and a gold medalist in both women individual and team recurve at the Hyundai World Archery Championships in 2019, is considered one of the most successful Taiwanese archers in history.
Meanwhile, Kaufhold said her final shot felt good as the string came off her finger, leading her to feel it was going to the center, but it ended up being a high right nine.
“You’ve just got to roll with what you have. We had 10-nine, which by no means is bad,” Kaufhold said.
“I’m a little sad because I shot the nine, but it was a good match,” she said.
Taiwan finished the World Cup with four golds, one silver and two bronze.
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