On the first day of the 2024 Indoor World Series 250- Taipei Archery Open, former world record holder and South Korean archer KANG Chaeyoung showcased her skills, scoring 591 in the women’s recurve qualification round to finish in fifth place. Additionally, France’s Young Star Baptiste Addis, who helped his home country win a men’s team silver at the Paris Olympics, also participated in the men’s recurve preliminary round.
In 2019, KANG Chaeyoung set the women’s world record with a score of 692 at the World Championships. However, this record was surpassed earlier this year at the Paris Olympics by her compatriot Lim Sihyeon, who scored an incredible 694.
During today’s women’s recurve ranking round, KANG Chaeyoung demonstrated her caliber by scoring 298 in the first round, with only two arrows missing the 10-ring. However, a second-round score of 293 brought her total to 591, dropping her to fifth place. “I was happy to start strong but a little disappointed not to maintain it in the latter half,” she said.
Kang explained that as South Korea is currently in the off-season, with no domestic or international events, she decided to join the Taipei indoor tournament. “It’s close to South Korea, and I thought it would be fun to compete.” Looking ahead to the upcoming season, she has set her sights on the World Championships and hopes to secure a spot there.
Chinese Taipei archer Kuo Tzu-ying, who shared a target with Kang, had a slow start but improved steadily. She scored 286 in the first round and climbed to 293 in the second, finishing with a total of 579 to rank 16th in the women’s recurve category. “I shot better in the second half, and compared to before, I felt more confident in using my strength,” said Kuo.
Having recently helped her team win the championship in the Chinese Enterprise Archery League, Kuo shyly admitted she hadn’t practiced much for the 18-meter indoor competition distance. Nevertheless, her stamina was not an issue, and although she felt fatigued during the last three sets, she remained focused throughout. Hoping to surpass her quarterfinal finish from last year, she wished to avoid slipping in rankings.
Kuo emphasized that competing alongside Kang did not add any undue pressure. “Archery is about focusing on yourself,” she said, adding that she used the opportunity to observe the former world record holder. “She’s very decisive and precise in her shots.”
The best performance among Chinese Taipei women came from sophomore Hsu Hsin-tzu from San Min High School in New Taipei City, who scored 586 to rank sixth. Hsu expressed her surprise at the result. “I was quite nervous, seeing so many excellent competitors, but I just focused on shooting as usual,” she said.
Skipping the U21 category to compete directly in the open division, Hsu explained that the smaller U21 participant pool encouraged her to challenge herself. “It’s also a learning experience, and I believe my skills are up to the task,” she said. Dissatisfied with her results last year, Hsu returned to this group with renewed determination.
Hsu noted the significant differences between indoor 18-meter shooting and outdoor 70-meter events, particularly in strength and technique adjustments. The smaller target face adds to the challenge, requiring greater concentration. She approached the tournament as training, with her sights set on upcoming events, including the Asian Games in Nagoya and the World Cup trials in mid-December.
In the men’s recurve ranking round, South Korean archers dominated the leaderboard, but 17-year-old French newcomer Baptiste Addis made an impressive climb in the latter half, securing third place with a score of 594. With a decade of archery experience, Addis was pleased with his performance and confident about achieving a good result. Visiting Taipei for the first time, he expressed his enjoyment of exploring and looked forward to trying the renowned local cuisine.
Among Chinese Taipei male archers, Su Yu-yang achieved the best result, momentarily ranking third before finishing sixth with a score of 591. Su mentioned that indoor competitions, free from wind interference, are more about mental adjustment, which he found most challenging. Having competed in this event for three consecutive years, Su described it as “a lot of fun” and aimed to maintain a top-three finish. “With so many international competitors this year, the competition has become much tougher,” he added.
