Beijing Olympic - Perfect ×10-10-10 sends Im Dong-Hyun to the final
The elimination rounds and the semi-final of the recurve men’s event at the Archery World Cup Stage 3 took place on May 30 in Antalya, Turkey. Archer Im Dong-Hyun from the Republic of Korea (ROK) beat compatriot Park Kyung-Mo by shooting a perfect final round of ×10-10-10 to enter the final. He will be fighting for the gold medal with American archer Ellison Brady. Indian archer Mangal Singh Champia, who ranked first in yesterday’s qualifications, surprisingly fell out of the race much earlier than expected.
Champia is the only Indian archer to make the Olympic berth in this event. He ranked first in the 15th Asian Archery Championship. His performance yesterday was exemplary; he finished first in Thursday’s qualifications by a dramatic final ×10, which pushed Park Kyung-Mo into second place. Thus, his defeat by Ukrainian archer Markiyan, 108-113, came as a complete shock.
Fans of ROK athletes were also disappointed, as they expected both gold and silver glory. However, in the semi-final, Im Dong-Hyun won the match, leaving Park Kyung-Mo competing for the bronze medal against Indian Banerjee Rahul, who lost in competition against Ellison Brady.
The recurve men’s final will take place on May 31.
(Source: en.beijing2008.cn)