After a shoot-off battle, Yelena Osipova defeated
Archery team sweeps 4 out of 5 gold medals
Ansang (20, Gwangju Women's University) has rewritten the history of world archery. She became the first ever Olympic archer to win three gold medals.
On the 30th, at the archery field in Yumenoshima Park, Tokyo, Japan, Ansang won the women's individual final at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in a shoot-off against Russia's Yelena Osipova with a score of 6-5 (28-28 30-29 27-28 27-29 29-27 <10-8>).
Ansang had previously won gold medals in the women's team event and the mixed team event, which was introduced for the first time in this competition. With the individual gold medal, she became the first archer in history to achieve an Olympic archery triple crown. She also earned the honor of being the first Korean athlete to win three gold medals at a Summer Olympics.
Thanks to Ansang's achievement, the archery team swept four out of the five gold medals available in this competition. Only one gold medal remains to complete the sweep of all events for two consecutive Olympics since the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics. That is the men's individual event. Kim Woo-jin (Cheongju City Hall) will compete on the 31st at the same venue against Malaysia's Mohamed Khairul Anuar for a spot in the quarterfinals.
Ansang faced a shoot-off battle in both the semifinals and the finals. The start was a bit shaky. In the first set, her first arrow scored 8 points. However, Ansang did not waver. She quickly scored two arrows in the 10-point zone to tie at 28-28. Ansang maintained good momentum in the second set. She shot all three arrows into the 10-point zone, narrowly defeating Osipova, who scored 29 points, by one point. Osipova did not back down. In the third set, she scored two 9s and one 10 for 28 points. Ansang scored only 27 points as her first arrow landed in the 8-point zone.
With the set score tied at 3-3, the momentum seemed to shift to Osipova. In the fourth set, Osipova shot two arrows into the 10-point zone for 29 points. Ansang scored three 9s, conceding 2 set points. In the fifth set, where a draw would mean defeat, Ansang calmly composed herself and drew her bowstring. Her first arrow scored 9 points, and the remaining two arrows both hit the 10-point zone. Osipova scored three 9s, missing a golden opportunity to win the gold medal. Ansang did not miss the chance. In the ensuing shoot-off, she calmly placed a single arrow in the 10-point zone. Osipova, shaken psychologically, scored 8 points and took home the silver medal.
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