"Even Trusted Kim Je-deok Fires Two 7s in Shocking Slump" South Korea’s Mixed Archery Team Suffer 0-6 Rout to China in Major Upset [Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games]

[Financial News] A shocking upset once again struck South Korea’s archery team, which had prided itself on being the world’s strongest. Before the shock of losing its bid for an eighth consecutive women’s team title had even subsided, the country became the victim of another major upset, suffering a complete defeat to China without winning a single set in the mixed recurve team event.
South Korea’s mixed recurve team of Kim Je-deok of Yecheon County Office and Kang Chae-young of Hyundai Mobis fell to China by a set score of 0-6 (32-37, 36-37, 34-37) in the semifinals of the mixed recurve team event at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, held at the Okazaki Central General Park Multipurpose Arena in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, on the 2nd. As a result, South Korea’s ambitious bid to win the event for a second consecutive time also ended in disappointment.
In the mixed event, male and female archers alternate and shoot two arrows each in every set, with 40 points available. A team earns two points for winning a set and one for a tie, and the first team to reach five points wins. However, the Korean archers’ arrows repeatedly missed the center of the target on this day.

The nightmare began in the first set. Kim Je-deok, nicknamed “Fighting Koongya” for his trademark spirited shouts on the shooting line, suffered a painful slump from the outset, putting both of his first-set arrows into the 7-ring. South Korea conceded the opening set with an unusually low score of 32-37, signaling a troubling start.
Even after regrouping in the second set, South Korea narrowly conceded it 36-37 by just one point and was pushed to the brink. In the third set, when a turnaround was desperately needed, even veteran Kang Chae-young’s shooting faltered. Both of her arrows scored only 8s, and South Korea ultimately lost the set 34-37. The set score was 0-6—a complete defeat with no room for excuses.
A day after South Korea’s archers surrendered the gold medal to India in the women’s team final following the shock of three consecutive 8s in the third set, they once again struggled with an unexplained collapse in accuracy. Kim Je-deok and Kang Chae-young, who missed their chance to aim for gold and were relegated to the bronze-medal match, will make one final stand to restore their battered pride.
[email protected] Jeon Sang-il Reporter