Benchmark scores set high during first qualification sessions at Nimes 2015

It’s a well-told story already: a group of Korean recurve women from professional Team LH – representing a construction company back home – started shooting the Indoor Archery World Cup circuit a number of years back. Shooting and winning it. 

This season a couple more Korean professional teams caught on.

Hyundai Steel sent a recurve men’s squad to the second stage of the circuit in Bangkok – and won it.

In Nimes, shirts sporting the now-normal LH name, Hyundai Steel and Hyundai Mobil have been spotted on the line. (Along with a number of Korea independents.)

It’s not just been in the recurve divisions, either. SONG Yun Soo scored a phenomenal 595 out of 600 in the first of four qualification sessions to take provisional pole position in the compound women’s competition.

Erika JONES – who holds the world record at 595 for the 60-arrow round at 18 metres – will need to outdo her own world-best score to steal that top spot away. (Or any other athlete who feels up to the challenge.)

With 12 arrows to go and an even better chance at breaking a historic mark, KIM Yu Mi could drop three points and still set a new recurve women’s world record for the ranking round. She had cleaned the 18 prior shots in Nimes – and already equalled the 592 mark at last year’s European stage in Telford.

She shot two consecutive 28s and the chance was lost.

Team LH KIM’s eventual 590 total was equalled by Hyundai Mobis’ KIM Min Yung – but both were leapfrogged by Mexican outdoor World Cup Champion Aida ROMAN after the second session.

Aida matched that recurve women’s record of 592.

“I just broke my personal best at international competition,” said Aida, who came out on top of the Koreans that relegated her to bronze in Telford last year. 

“Feels great,” with a fist pump. “But I’ve got to be focused on the eliminations and the next stages of the competition now.”

Olympic Champion OH Jin Hyek, a member of Hyundai Steel, shot 596 points for his session. (Not a world record in the recurve men’s category.) That total was one point up on his teammate MIN Byeongyeon. 

OH shot his first indoor international in Bangkok, but failed to podium.

With over 300 archers registered for the division at this Nimes tournament, the compound men’s event is always wide open.

As a number of well-known internationals put it at the end of the day when asked what the cut into the top 32 might be: “586… or 590”. It’s been 586 for two years in a row, but with so many talented archers shooting tomorrow – there’s a chance it could be driven even higher. If nobody else shot, it would be 582.

The USA’s Jesse BROADWATER had today’s top total of 596. World Cup Champion Bridger DEATON (USA) was one of nine shooters within three points. (Hyundai Steel’s KIM Taeyoon was another.)

See results from Nimes 2015.