In the 2023 Indoor World Series 250- Taipei Archery Open, the elimination rounds took place on the 9th. In the morning, Chinese Taipei dominated the men’s recurve bow category, securing all four spots in the semifinals. Ultimately, the two national players from the Hangzhou Asian Games, Tang Chih-Chun and Tai Yu-Hsuan, advanced to the finals and will compete for the gold medal tomorrow. In the women’s compound bow category, an Indian archer has secured the gold, ensuring a silver for her country.
In the early stages of the men’s recurve bow competition, starting from the 32-player knockout round, top-seeded Tang Chih-Chun experienced his only setback in the opening round. However, he smoothly advanced through subsequent rounds. In the quarterfinals, he achieved a perfect score, shooting four consecutive rounds with 30 points, ultimately securing a spot in the finals. His fellow, Hung Cheng-Hao, will compete for the bronze medal.
In today’s competition, Hung Cheng-Hao faced suspenseful situations in the first three rounds, resorting to tiebreakers in all three instances. These tiebreaker arrows, each hitting the 10-point mark, were crucial for his advancement. Twice, the victory was secured after comparing distances to the bullseye. Hung mentioned that if he could conclude matches more quickly, it would provide additional time for rest, which is always beneficial. He acknowledged that the skill levels between himself and opponents are relatively equal, with perhaps a slight advantage in luck. Internally, he reminded himself to let go of any previous uncertainties and to focus on executing each arrow effectively.
Last year, Hung Cheng-Hao showcased a “single-round tour.” This time, he is set to compete for the bronze against another Chinese Taipei archer Su Yu-Yang. Hung emphasized their familiarity with each other due to regular training at the National Training Center. Anticipating tomorrow’s match, he expressed a mix of excitement and nervousness. Fortunately, he had already used additional arrows in practice to calm his nerves and gain insights into handling crucial moments. Hung affirmed his readiness to maintain the positive momentum he achieved today.
Su Yu-Yang secured victory in the quarterfinals against last year’s gold medalist Wei Chun-Heng. However, in the semifinals, after an intense five-round battle, Su ultimately lost 4-6 to Tai Yu-Hsuan, who was participating in his first indoor competition.
“It feels quite fresh, and I’m really happy. It’s my first time shooting at such a close distance, and I thought 18 meters would be easy. Turns out, it’s not.” Tai Yu-Hsuan expressed. He mentioned that last year, due to time constraints, he couldn’t register, but this time, after the Asian Championships, he had a long break to use competitions for training and examine recent adjustments in his form. “This is an international competition, the tension is a bit higher. Compared to 70 meters, the margin for error is much smaller, and every arrow is crucial.”
Tai Yu-Hsuan pointed out that because the target face is considerably smaller, he doesn’t keep himself continuously focused on aiming, and he has seen the results of this approach. Tomorrow, he will compete with Tang Chih-Chun for the gold medal. He believes that on the field, it’s about enjoying the moment, showcasing the most confident side, and achieving the goals set in training.
India’s top-seeded archer, Vennam Jyothi Surekha, and the second-seeded Kaur Parneet, both received byes in the first round and advanced directly to the gold medal match after successfully overcoming three rounds. In the semifinals, they both eliminated Chinese Taipei opponents.
The event is taking place at the university from which she graduated, Huang I-Jou expressed her full support. Despite a busy schedule throughout the year, participating in events such as the World Cup, Asian Games, National Games, Asian Championships, and now the indoor competition, she described the experience as fulfilling and stated, “It’s a moment to give myself a pat on the back.” Regarding tomorrow’s bronze medal match against her Hangzhou Asian Games silver medalist teammate, Chen Yi-Hsuan, when asked if she is confident, she confidently declared, “Of course.”
Kaur Parneet won the other semifinal match against Chen Yi-Hsuan with a score of 144:141. This is her second visit to Taipei, but her first time participating in a competition here. She mentioned that she had met Chen Yi-Hsuan in other tournaments before and was impressed. Excited about competing for the gold medal against her formidable national team teammate tomorrow, Kaur exclaimed, “We have faced each other several times in the past, and she has about a 60% win rate, while I have a 40% win rate.”
