 Im Dong-Hyun (centre) celebrates his fourth gold medal at an Asian Games as South Korea claim their eighth successive team archery title
By Mukesh Sharma BBC Hindi service in Guangzhou |
 Experienced "blind" archer Im Dong-Hyun claimed his fourth gold medal at an Asian Games when South Korea won the men's archery team event in Guangzhou. The team scored 4114 points in qualification to break a Games record they set eight years earlier. South Korea went on to defeat China in the final 222-218 and claim an eighth successive Asian Games title. Im failed to progress to the finals of the singles event despite finishing third in the qualifying round. Im, whose eyesight is so poor that he is considered "legally blind", scored 1361 in the 144-arrow qualification round. But the better scores of his team mates saw them qualify because only two archers from a single country can compete in the finals.  | IM DONG-HYUN - THE FACTS Region: South Korea Born: 1986 Discipline: Archery Career highlights: 2007 World Champion, member of two-time Olympic gold medallist team and member of three-time World Champion team |
Kim Woojin scored a world record-breaking 1387 points and Oh Jinhyek's score of 1366 points was enough to consign Im to third. Kim went on to win the singles gold medal, beating India's Tarundeep Rai in the final. Im did however contribute to South Korea's team gold, adding to the medals he won at the 2002 and 2006 Asian Games. Im's performance in the team semi-final against India was not very convincing and he even shot a seven in the second ends (round). He shot 70 altogether while Kim and Oh scored 76 each. The final against host nation China was a test of nerves, especially after China recorded three 10s for a perfect score to lead 114-111 by the end of the second of four rounds. Im drew on his experience to shoot two 10s in the third round to put South Korea a point behind China. A shot off the target by Dai Xiaoxiang in the final round saw the South Koreans triumph. "At first we knew that the game would not be an easy one. However I found that it was tougher than I thought," said Im after the final. "China performed excellently at first. They led the game for two to three points but when it came to the last ends, they lost the focus and gave us the chance, so we won the game. "It was a mental contest more than a physical one and we had more experience." Im was happy to win at least one gold in these Games. "I actually aimed to win two gold medals; in the men's individual and team events. Though I couldn't make it, I am happy with the gold medal for the team."
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