Kim Je-deok (Yecheon County) and Kang Chae-young (Hyundai Mobis) will team up in the mixed team event of the archery recurve competition at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. Both athletes secured their spots in the mixed event by achieving the highest scores among Korean competitors in the ranking round, setting the stage for a potential three-gold medal haul.
On September 26, Kim Je-deok scored a total of 693 points from 72 arrows in the men's recurve ranking round held at Okazaki Central Park in Aichi Prefecture, placing second overall behind India's Diaraji Bommadevara, who scored 698 points.
Lee Woo-seok (Kolon) finished fourth with 687 points, while Kim Woo-jin (Cheongju City) came in sixth with 684 points.
The combined score of the three athletes, 2064 points, secured Korea the top spot among 17 countries in the team event, surpassing the previous Asian Games record of 2048 points set at the 2022 Hangzhou Games.
However, Kim Woo-jin will not advance to the individual competition due to a quota limit of two entries per country.
In the women's division, Kang Chae-young topped the ranking with a score of 685 points. Lee Yoon-ji (Hyundai Mobis) placed third with 678 points, and Oh Ye-jin (Gwangju Bank) was fourth with 677 points. Lee Yoon-ji tied with Japan's Asakuno Nanami in points but lost out based on the number of Xs (bullseyes).
The combined score of 2040 points set a new Asian Games record for the women's team, which also claimed the top ranking in the team event.
The archery team selects its mixed team participants based on the highest scores achieved in the ranking round, which is why Kim Je-deok and Kang Chae-young will compete together.
The recurve team aims to replicate its success from the Hangzhou Games, where it won four gold medals across men's and women's team events and the mixed team event. The goal for this competition is to secure gold in all five events.
The compound team also performed well, with Choi Yong-hee (Hyundai Steel) finishing third with 711 points. Kim Jong-ho (Hyundai Steel) and Choi Eun-kyu (Ulsan Nam-gu) both scored 706 points. With five athletes scoring the same, rankings were determined by the number of Xs, placing Kim Jong-ho eighth and Choi Eun-kyu tenth.
The men's compound team scored a total of 2123 points, finishing second behind China.
In the women's division, Park Jeong-yoon (Changwon City) scored 702 points for third place, while Kang Yeon-seo (Seongsa Middle School) was fourth with 701 points. Park Ye-rin (Korea National Sport University) finished 24th with 693 points.
The women's compound team recorded a total of 2096 points, placing third behind China and India.
Choi Yong-hee and Park Jeong-yoon will represent Korea in the compound mixed team event.
The archery tournament will commence on September 27, with gold medals awarded starting on September 30 for the compound men's and women's team events and mixed team events, followed by individual events on October 1 and 2, and concluding with the recurve events on October 3.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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