South Korea claimed a 5-1 set victory over India in the men’s team recurve archery final at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games on day 2 at the multi-purpose square of the Okazaki Central Integrated Park in Okazaki, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, starnewskorea.com reported.
Securing Gold Against India in Aichi
The men’s team roster featured Kim Woo-jin, 34, representing the Cheongju City Hall; Kim Je-deok, 22, from the Jincheon County Office; and Lee Woo-seok, 29, competing for Koril. Facing an Indian squad that had earlier upset the South Korean women's team, the men's trio won three tight sets to lock down the championship points.
Archery team matches award 2 set points for a win and 1 for a draw, with the first squad to reach 5 points winning the match. Each team consists of three athletes shooting two arrows apiece per set for a total of six arrows.
The final began with the two nations splitting the opening set points after a tied score. South Korea seized momentum in the second set by opening with a string of 10-point shots, while India managed 8-point marks, pushing the set score to 57-50 in favor of India and establishing a 3-1 match lead for South Korea.
Closing Out the Final Set Under Pressure
Entering the third set with a two-point advantage, South Korea watched as India posted 10, 9, and 9 with their first three arrows. Lee Woo-seok answered with a 10, while Kim Je-deok and Kim Woo-jin each added 9s to level the running score.
In the final rotation of three arrows, India opened with a 7 followed by a 9 and a 10. South Korea countered with Lee hitting a 10, Kim Je-deok scoring a 9, and Kim Woo-jin securing a 9 to close out the match and confirm the 5-1 final score.
The victory defends South Korea’s historical standing in the men’s team discipline at the Asian Games. The nation previously claimed eight consecutive titles from the 1982 New Delhi Games through the 2010 Guangzhou Games, before experiencing interruptions with bronze and silver finishes in Incheon in 2014 and Jakarta-Palembang in 2018, followed by a return to gold at the Hangzhou Games.
Contrast With Women’s and Mixed Results
The women’s squad featured Kang Chae-young, 30, of Mobis; Oh Ye-jin, 23, of the Gwangju Bank; and Lee Yoon-ji, 25, of Mobis. In the mixed team competition, Kang Chae-young and Kim Je-deok lost 0-6 to China in the semifinals before defeating Japan 5-1 to claim the bronze medal.
