 Korean men follow the women
(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-08-12 08:53
South Korea took the gold medal in the Olympic men's team archery competition yesterday, matching the feat of its women a day earlier. The team of Im Dong-hyun, Lee Chang-hwan and Park Kyung-mo defeated Italians Mauro Nespoli, Ilario Di Buo' and Marco Galiazzo by 227 points to 225, winning gold for South Korea for the third Olympics in succession. China won the bronze. The final came down to the last few arrows after earlier looking like a rout. After 12 of the 24 arrows, the South Koreans led the Italians by seven points and looked like they were headed toward breaking their own world record. However, in the second half they dropped a string of points, and the teams were level with three arrows each remaining. Im insisted that his team had never lost confidence despite losing the big lead.
"We knew that we were good, even if we slowed down toward the end," he said. Italy's final shot - a seven from the bow of 20-year-old Nespoli - proved the difference between the two teams. His first shot of the final was also a seven, although in between he shot four 10s. "As far as the first is concerned, well, it was the first in the final and of course nerves had a lot to do with it," Nespoli said. "As for the last, I was aware that there was a real possibility of winning the gold, so nerves again might have had a role." Nespoli is by far the least-experienced of the Italian trio: Galiazzo won the individual gold medal in Athens, and Di Buo' Ilario is competing in his sixth games. The final shot of the tournament was Park's. He needed eight to ensure victory; he scored nine. AP (China Daily 08/12/2008 page12) |
