It is unlikely anyone on the South Korean archery team could sit down for a chat about the rules of cricket, but the Olympic champions may deliver the most dominating performance Lord’s has ever seen during this summer’s London Games.
The “home of cricket” will provide a stunning background to the archery competition at the 2012 Games, and the South Koreans, with their spotless white uniforms and ice-cool composure, will look right at home.
While South Korea’s men won the team titles in Sydney, Athens and Beijing, the women are on a different planet, winning all six gold medals in the team event since the category was introduced at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
The Korean national archery team (Yonhap News)
The Koreans will be supremely confident of adding two more team gold medals to their collection, and Ki Bo-bae said the depth of archery talent at home meant that making it through the national selection process was the hardest part.
“It’s more difficult to become a member of the national team than to win a gold medal at the Olympics, I really feel that,” she said.
The individual titles this year, however, could be harder to come by.
Having won gold at every Olympics since the 1984 Los Angeles Games, South Korea’s women had their streak snapped by China’s Zhang Juanjuan in Beijing.
Among those standing in the Koreans’ way in London will be emerging talent Deepika Kumari, who has a real chance of winning India’s first archery medal.
Remarkably, despite dominating the sport for decades at Olympic and world level, South Korea’s bowmen have never managed to bag the individual title.
Former men’s world No. 1 Im Dong-hyun has two Olympic team golds and holds the world record for 72 arrows but concedes that even with his stellar record the upcoming Games are giving him sleepless nights.
“I get nervous more than ever these days, and I feel the burden is heavier than ever,” Im said. “But this is a golden opportunity for me, so I will do my best to get gold medals for myself and my team.” (Reuters)