Team advances in all 3 team events; Kang Yeon-seo shoots perfect 150 in back-to-back rounds

South Korea's Choi Yong-hee takes aim during the men's EMC individual round of 16 against Malaysia's Alang Arif Aqil Muhammad Gazali at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games at Okazaki Central General Park in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, on Monday. [Yonhap]
South Korea's Choi Yong-hee takes aim during the men's EMC individual round of 16 against Malaysia's Alang Arif Aqil Muhammad Gazali at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games at Okazaki Central General Park in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, on Monday. [Yonhap]

South Korea's EMC archery team sent all four of its individual-event competitors to the quarterfinals at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Monday.

In the men's draw, Choi Yong-hee of Hyundai Steel defeated Abdulla Hassan Al Mansoori of the UAE 147-141 in the round of 32, then beat Malaysia's Alang Arif Aqil Muhammad Gazali 149-145 in the round of 16 at Okazaki Central Park in Aichi Prefecture, Japan.

Kim Jong-ho, also of Hyundai Steel, followed suit, eliminating Bhutan's Gaychey 148-143 in the round of 32 and Malaysia's Zuwaidi Mazuki 147-145 in the round of 16.

On the women's side, Kang Yeon-seo of Seongsa Middle School shot a perfect score in two consecutive matches. She routed Mongolia's Dagdanjavyn Otgonbayar 150-133 in the round of 32, then edged India's Jyothi Surekha Vennam 150-146 in the round of 16.

In EMC individual competition, where matches are decided over 15 arrows, a score of 150 is perfect. Kang's 150 set an Asian Games record, surpassing the previous mark of 149 set by India's Aditi Swami at the 2023 Hangzhou Games.

Park Jeong-yun of Changwon City Hall also advanced, beating the UAE's Jumana Ali Ahmad Al Nazzar 148-140 in the round of 32 before edging Taiwan's Chen Fang-yi 148-147 in the round of 16.

South Korea's Kang Yeon-seo releases an arrow during the women's EMC individual round of 16 against India's Jyothi Surekha Vennam at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games at Okazaki Central General Park in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, on Monday. [Yonhap]
South Korea's Kang Yeon-seo releases an arrow during the women's EMC individual round of 16 against India's Jyothi Surekha Vennam at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games at Okazaki Central General Park in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, on Monday. [Yonhap]

The individual quarterfinals through the final are scheduled for Thursday. In the women's draw, Kang faces China's Wu Nie'er and Park takes on Malaysia's Matsalleh Fatin Nurfateha for spots in the semifinals. In the men's draw, Kim Jong-ho meets China's Liao Jiahao and Choi Yong-hee faces Vietnam's Dang Cong Duc.

In both draws, the two South Korean competitors are on opposite sides of the bracket. If both advance to the semifinals, they would meet in an all-Korean final for the gold medal.

Having already reached the semifinals in all three team events on Sunday, the South Korean EMC team secured quarterfinal berths for all four individual competitors on Monday, keeping the country in medal contention across all five events.


yjc@heraldcorp.com