Women's Team : Korea maintain golden streak by a point ATHENS, 20 August - Korea’s women archers emphasised their dominance of the sport at the Panathinaiko Stadium on Friday 20 August, by adding the Team gold medal to the gold and silver medals they picked up in the Individual competition two days earlier. A tense one-point victory in the final against China ensured that Korea maintained an incredible run of success that has seen it pick up every available Women’s gold medal since its first Archery participation in the Olympic Games in 1984. The golden haul for Korea’s women now stands at six consecutive Individual gold medals and all five Team gold medals since the Team competition was introduced in 1988. But Korea’s stellar team comprising the gold and silver medallists from the Women’s Individual competition at Athens 2004, PARK Sung Hyun and LEE Sung Jin, and the double gold medallist from the Sydney Olympics, YUN Mi Jin, was made to fight for her victory in the final. China won the Team competition at the 2001 World Championships and with two of that team, HE Ying and ZHANG Juanjuan, linking effectively with the third team member, LIN Sang, they came within one point of causing the biggest upset of the Athens 2004 Archery competition. A spirited fight back from the Chinese archers, who trailed by four points with nine arrows remaining, left PARK needing to score 10 points with her final arrow to win the match. PARK paused to seek divine inspiration before firing the decisive arrow into the 12.2cm heart of the target to give Korea a 241-240 victory. Chinese Taipei’s female archers sported beards and scars in winning the bronze medal match against France. After losing to China in the semifinal, YUAN Shu Chi and CHEN Li Ju decided to cheer themselves up with a bit of face-painting and it seemed to have a positive effect. Along with their more reserved teammate, WU Hui Ju, YUAN and CHEN breezed to a 242-228 victory. The bronze medal is Chinese Taipei’s first ever Archery medal at the Olympic Games and caps off an impressive event in which YUAN and WU also finished fourth and sixth in the Individual competition. With the inspiring 19-year-old YUAN as the talisman, this success could spark off an increased level of interest of the sport in the country. Archery has also received an elevated profile in Greece as a result of the home nation’s success at the Panathinaiko Stadium. Lead by Evangelia PSARRA (GRE), who finished eighth in the Individual competition, the Greek team put out USA in the 1/8 Elimination Round before themselves going out to the eventual champions in the quarterfinal. Greece’s fifth place was their best finish ever in an Olympic Archery event. ONS jl/is --

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