▲ South Korean archer Kang Yeon-seo releases an arrow during the compound women's team bronze medal match against Chinese Taipei at the Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Multipurpose Ground in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, on the 30th. (Photo: Yonhap News)
A 14-year-old middle school student has become an Asian Games bronze medalist thanks to archery introduced to her by a friend.
Kang Yeon-seo, a third-year student at Seongsa Middle School, teamed up with Park Jung-yoon (Changwon City Hall) and Park Ye-rin (Korea National Sport University) to defeat Chinese Taipei 229-228 in the compound women's team bronze medal match at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games held at Okazaki Chuo Park in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, on the 30th.
When Kang was selected as the youngest-ever national archery team member last April, she told reporters, "I'm most grateful to the friend who introduced me to archery."
Kang first picked up a bow during an elementary school experience class and honed her skills at the Bucheon G-Sports Club, developing into an elite athlete.
She reportedly joined the club influenced by a friend who took the trial class together.
What started as a hobby led to rapid growth.
Armed with a fast tempo and a clean shooting style, she swept gold medals in the women's individual and team events at the Middle-High School Federation President's Cup and the women's team and mixed events at the Hwarang Tournament last year.
In April of this year, she finished third in the final national team primary and secondary trials, securing a ticket to the Asian Games.
Born in 2011, Kang became the youngest national archer in history, beating the record set by Tokyo 2020 two-gold medalist Kim Je-deok (Yecheon County Office) by three years.
There is a 30-year age gap between her and shooter Lee Bo-na, born in 1981, who is the oldest member of the women's delegation at this tournament.
Despite her young age, she firmly held her ground.
In the bronze medal match, Park Ye-rin scored 77 points, while Kang and Park Jung-yoon each shot 76 points.
Kang's quest for gold is not over yet.
Having advanced to the quarterfinals of the women's individual event, she will compete in the showdown on October 1.
Kang's momentum at this tournament has been even stronger in the individual event than in the team event.
She shot a perfect 150 points in both the Round of 32 and the Round of 16.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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