Young archer looking to use world championships bronze as stepping stone

Given the way he was smiling ear to ear Thursday afternoon, one would have thought Korean recurve archer Kim Je-deok had just won a gold medal at the ongoing world championships. In fact, Kim had won the men's individual bronze medal at the World Archery Championships — no minor accomplishment, but not the same as gold. And the 21-year-old had fallen to the bronze medal contest after losing a heartbreaker in the semifinals only a few minutes earlier at the May 18 Democracy Plaza in Gwangju, 270 kilometers south of Seoul. The ebullient athlete with an easy smile said afterward he had a blast throughout the competition. "Regardless of the result, I had so much fun," Kim said. "The matches were really tight. My hands were shaking so much. I am pleased with the result and also the process leading to this point." Kim defeated Matteo Borsani of Italy 7-3 (29-29, 30-29, 28-27, 28-30, 29-28) for the bronze medal. In individual recurve matches, archers each take three arrows per set, for a maximum score of 30 points. A set win is worth two points, and a tie is good for one point. The goal is toWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times