Archer rues missed opportunity to win gold for mentor
Korean archer So Chae-won, right, wipes tears from her teammate Oh Yoo-hyun after winning the bronze medal in the women's compound archery team event at the Asian Games at Fuyang Yinhu Sports Centre in Hangzhou, China, Oct. 5. Yonhap
Korean compound archer Oh Yoo-hyun is no different than many other archers in her trade, in that she began her career in recurve before making the transition.
Recurve is considered the more glamorous discipline of the two, as it's the only Olympic event in archery. And compound archery -- with targets set up closer than recurve and bows being more forgiving -- is often where those who didn't pan out in recurve end up.
Oh, now 34, made the switch much later in her career than most, turning to compound at age 29 after suffering a shoulder injury. The coach who first suggested the transition and guided Oh through the process was Park Sung-hyun, a three-time Olympic champion in recurve.
Oh enjoyed great international success in her second career as a compound archer, and won the national team trials for the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.
She came to Fuyang Yinhu Sports Centre on Thursday determined to take home a gold medal and show it to her longtime coach. After coming up short in that bid, as Oh and her two teammates settled for bronze medal in the team event, Oh was reduced to tears.
Korean archer Cho Su-a competes in the bronze medal match of the women's compound archery team event at the Asian Games at Fuyang Yinhu Sports Centre in Hangzhou, China, Oct. 5. Yonhap
"I'd promised her I'd come home with a gold medal around my neck, and I've failed to live up to that," Oh said, after taking a couple of minutes to gather herself. "I want to thank her for her support."
Korea lost to Chinese Taipei 230-224 in the semifinals to fall to the bronze medal match, which was held just a few minutes later. But Oh, So Chae-won and Cho Su-a bounced back nicely to beat Indonesia 232-229 for the bronze.
"Toward the end of the semifinals, we were already trailing by a big margin, so we started thinking about how to get ready for the bronze medal match," said So, who'd won silver in the mixed team event Wednesday. "As our team captain, Yoo-hyun tried to get everyone focused for our one final match, and we were able to recover in time to win the bronze at the end."
Cho, the youngest member of the team at 22, said she leaned on her two teammates to get through her first Asian Games appearance.
Korean archer So Chae-won competes in the bronze medal match of the women's compound archery team event at the Asian Games at Fuyang Yinhu Sports Centre in Hangzhou, China, Oct. 5. Yonhap
"My teammates kept trying to help me stay calm and relaxed," Cho said. "The goal was obviously to win the gold medal, but we all worked hard until the end to get this bronze medal."
The conditions at Fuyang were much windier than Wednesday, and Oh rued her team's inability to handle the elements.
"I had no doubt in my mind we were good enough to win the gold medal," she said. "But we couldn't get a proper read of the wind and couldn't get over the hump. I am really disappointed with that."
So, a member of the gold medal-winning team at the 2018 Asiad in Jakarta, now has three career Asian Games medals. With a silver and a bronze in her bag so far in Hangzhou, she will take a crack at winning the individual gold in Saturday's final against Jyothi Surekha Vennam of India.
"I've been a little off the past couple of days, and I will have to address my weaknesses before the final," So said. "Since I won a gold medal in Jakarta, I'd love to win another gold here." (Yonhap)