Korean archers remain calm in the clutch of gold medal match

An San of Korea competes in the final of the women's team recurve archery at Fuyang Yinhu Sports Center in Hangzhou, China, during the 19th Asian Games, Oct. 6. Yonhap

In the deciding fourth set of the Korea-China gold medal match of the women's recurve team event Friday, Korean archer An San hit an 8 for her final shot, the lowest score the reigning Olympic champion had.

With Korea holding a one-point lead over China with three shots to go, her eight-point performance placed a huge amount of pressure on her following teammates of Choi Mi-sun and Lim Si-hyeon, who had to make up for the mistake.

"Before standing in the shooting line, I just thought, let's not shoot an 8," An said. "I wasn't satisfied with my shots in the first and second sets, and then I hit an 8 in my last set. I was so upset and disappointed."

But Choi and Lim, who earlier won gold in the mixed doubles, did not let the Chinese team catch up. They both hit two bull's-eye shots to reach 57 points, just three points shy of the full 60 points after six shots.

Korean archers react after winning the final of the women's team recurve archery at Fuyang Yinhu Sports Center in Hangzhou, China, during the 19th Asian Games, Oct. 6. Yonhap

The Koreans' strong performance resulted in the Chinese archers losing their composure, who subsequently hit a 10 and two 8s for a total of 54 points.

The gold medal went to Korea, continuing its dominance in the women's team recurve with seven Asian Games titles in a row.

In the most stressful moment of the match, Choi and Lim said they trusted each other to pull off their best results in their final shots.

"I was nervous, but I thought (Lim) Si-hyeon will finish the set well, and I just did what I always do," said Choi, who returned to the national archery team for the first time in seven years after winning the team gold in the 2016 Olympics.

Lim, who was the final shooter of the three, said she enjoyed the tense moments, with her rhythm reaching a peak, hitting the center of the target on six out of eight attempts.

"I was a bit nervous in the quarters and semis, and that affected my confidence," said the 20-year-old. "I tried to do my best and shoot my arrows more confidently."

With the cooperative team title behind them, An and Lim will contend for the gold medal in the women's individual recurve Friday.

Their all-Korean duel will bring home the first gold in nine years as Korea took bronze in the individual event at the 2018 Asiad, ending their third consecutive Asian Games title. (Yonhap)