Kim Woojin collects 9th career top seeding on World Cup tour

Korea’s Kim Woojin scored 689 out of a possible 720 points on the 72-arrow 70-metre ranking round to claim his ninth career top seeding on the Hyundai Archery World Cup circuit at 2018’s stage one in Shanghai, China.

“I am satisfied with my score but my feeling was okay, I want to focus more to achieve better results,” said Kim, who left Shanghai in 2017 with silver medals in the individual, mixed team and team competitions.

“That won’t happen again.”

Woojin is the reigning Hyundai Archery World Cup Final Champion and world number one.

Second seed went to Lee Woo Seok, making his international debut for the top Korean team, having shot a few times internationally as part of the back-up squad.

“I shot higher scores during [Korean team] selections but this is the real competition, so this is a better performance,” said Lee.

The USA’s Brady Ellison came third with 676 points. Australia’s Taylor Worth, Koreans Oh Jin Hyek and Im Dong Hyun, Indonesia’s Riau Ega Agatha and Wei Chun-Heng from Chinese Taipei rounded out the top eight.

Agatha, who famously eliminated Woojin in the second round of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, said he had told his coach that he would shoot two halves of 343 points.

“I couldn’t quite do. I’m happy, though, and tomorrow I’ll be better. Like I said before, if a Korean can do it, I can do it,” he said.

Korea seeded first in the team event, followed by the Netherlands and, in a beautiful second chapter to one of last year’s most memorable Shanghai storylines, Kazakhstan.

The Kazakhstan men won their nation its first world archery medal by dispatching the formidable Koreans in a shoot-off for gold in 2017.

Australia had two men ranked in the top 12 – but no third to complete the team, which would have likely been seeded high; “it’s a shame,” said Worth, explaining that nobody else had reached the required selection scores at home.

The first stage of the Hyundai Archery World Cup takes place in Shanghai, China on 23-29 April.