Men's archery squad earn bronze

By Jung Min-ho

The Korean men’s archery team failed to mark the milestone of winning a fourth consecutive Olympic medal after surrendering to the United States 224-219 but secured the bronze by beating Mexico with the same score on Saturday.

"It's a bittersweet moment," said Oh Jin-hyek. "But we played our game and there are no regrets. I think my teammates did a decent job."

The loss was especially bitter because it came after the three archers Im Dong-hyun, Kim Bub-min and Oh, set the 216-arrow world record at the quarterfinals to send the Ukraines home with a total of 2,807.

The American trio Jake Kaminski, Jacob Wukie and Brady Ellison led by Korea-born coach Lee Ki-sik was stronger than the record-holders anticipated. At the team competition where each shoots twice in four sets with a total of 24 arrows, Korea only hit five 10s, while the Americans managed nine, including the last three for the victory.

"I am alright. I am not that disappointed. We just didn't shoot well, so I accept the result," Kim said.

The wind played a big part at the semifinal. While Korea seemed shaky with the unexpected weather conditions, the U.S. delivered a stable performance regardless.

"Weather conditions are part of the game," Im said. "The U.S. team better adjusted to the wind than we did."

By taking more than a half of the gold medals in both men’s and women’s team event since the 1988 Seoul Olympics, Korea has dominated the sport. Thus, the unexpected loss this time was a big disappointment to both the fans and the participants. Remaining optimistic however, after the game Im seemed still hopeful with another opportunity ahead.

"We have the top three seeds, and I'd like us three to sweep the medals in the individual event," Im said.

The Korean men’s archery team members will take another shot for an Olympic gold in the individual competition to regain their reputation. The event will start at 11:45 p.m. Korean time on Aug. 3.