Ki Bo Bae secures 2nd World Cup crown

Ki Bo Bae won her first Hyundai Archery World Cup title four years ago in Tokyo, just few months after becoming Olympic Champion – both individual and team – at the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Her second crown on archery’s international circuit came after she won another two medals at the Games, this time individual bronze and team gold in Rio de Janeiro, held from 5-12 August 2016.

With the season full-focused on the Olympics, Ki Bo Bae had little time to prepare for the Hyundai Archery World Cup Final and it was that, she said, that helped her win the recurve women’s title in Odense.

“I didn’t have much time to practice for the Final after the Olympic Games, as it was a busy schedule,” she said. “Before coming here I was expecting just to enjoy myself and I think this is what helped me to win today.”

At the year’s Final, she beat Italy’s Guendalina Sartori 6-2 first, then upset top seed Tan Ya-Ting 6-4 in the semifinals, to set up a gold medal match clash with teammate Choi Misun.

Ki jumped ahead after the first set and only tightened her groups as the match progressed, closing with a pair of 29-point sets to win the match and the circuit crown, 7-1. Throughout the final, she only landed one arrow out of the gold, an eight.

The title means Ki Bo Bae becomes only the second recurve woman to have won the Hyundai Archery World Cup Final twice. The other is Yun Ok-Hee, also from Korea.

Chinese Taipei’s Tan Ya-Ting, who came fifth individually at the Olympics in Rio and won a bronze with the recurve women’s team at the Games, collected bronze ahead of Wu Jiaxin from China.

Twenty-two-year-old Tan beat Maja Jager in the quarters, but then lost to Ki Bo Bae in the semifinals. She said she felt nerves, despite sporting a big grin throughout her time in the finals arena, and that the windy conditions didn’t help her feel comfortable while shooting.

The 2016 Hyundai Archery World Cup Final runs 24/25 September in Odense, Denmark.