Kim Jong-ho Wins S. Korea's First-Ever Asian Games Compound Men's Individual Archery Gold

Kim Jong-ho (Hyundai Steel) has become the first South Korean archer to win the gold medal in the men's compound individual event at the Asian Games.

Kim defeated Chang Cheng-wei of Taiwan 149-145 in the final of the compound men's individual archery event at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games held at the multi-purpose ground of Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, on October 1.

This marks the 26th gold medal for the South Korean sports delegation at the current Games.

Compound archery is an event where archers use bows equipped with mechanical devices such as pulleys and sights to precisely hit targets from a distance of 50 meters.

In previous men's compound individual events held at the 2014 Incheon Games and the 2022 Hangzhou Games (held in 2023), Yang Jae-won's bronze medal at the Hangzhou Games was South Korea's only prior medal in the discipline. Kim has now achieved the country's first-ever appearance in the final and victory.

This is the first individual compound archery gold for South Korea across both men's and women's events in 12 years, following Choi Bo-min's victory in the women's division at the Incheon Games.

The compound individual event is decided by the total score of 15 arrows.

Earlier in the day, Kim trailed Liao Chia-hao of China from the early stages of their quarterfinals match before turning the tables in the fifth end to secure a narrow 143-142 victory.

In his semifinal match against Ganesh Mani Ratnam Thirumuru of India, Kim hit all of his first six arrows into the 10-ring, taking a 60-58 lead through the second end.

Although he was pressured to 88-87 after shooting two 9s in the third end, Kim widened the gap to 118-116 by landing all three arrows in the 10-ring during the fourth end. He then sealed his trip to the final by shooting a "perfect end" in the fifth to win 148-144.

In the final against Chang Cheng-wei, Kim took a 29-28 lead in the first end, landed all three arrows in the 10-ring in the second to make it 59-57, and extended his lead to 89-86 by continuing his 10-point streak in the third end.

The gap widened further to 119-115 after the fourth end, allowing him to safely maintain his lead through the end.

Except for his third arrow in the final, which scored a 9, Kim displayed sensational skill by hitting all other 14 arrows into the 10-ring.

Choi Yong-hee (Hyundai Steel), the eldest member of the national team born in 1984, was eliminated in the quarterfinals after being defeated 143-146 by Dang Cong Duc of Vietnam.

In addition to Kim's men's individual gold, South Korea secured a silver medal in the compound mixed team event, along with bronze medals in the women's team and women's individual (Kang Yeon-seo) events at these Games.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.