For the first time ever, 15-year-old middle school girls from Korea Park came out! A 17-year-old high school student ranked first in the men's category, "Compound Generation Change New Wind."

*This content was translated by AI.

The 2026 national team, which will lead the archery team of the Republic of Korea, has been finally confirmed. In this selection match, middle and high school boys and girls made strides, sparking a full-fledged generational change.

The Korea Archery Association announced on the 23rd that "a total of 32 national representatives, 8 men and women from recurve and compound, were selected through the third round of the 2026 Archery National Team held at Kim Soo-nyeong Archery Field in Cheongju from the 16th to the 20th."

This selection match is a long-term selection process, starting with the "2026 Archery National Team 1st Selection" in September last year. After a total of five rounds of fierce competition, the best member to represent South Korea's archery has been determined.

The biggest feature is by far the "progress of young players." In the compound women's team, Kang Seo (15, Bucheon G-Sports) was named to the national team as the final third place, setting the record of being the first middle school student national team in Korean archery. As a member of the club team, he showed an unshakable performance even in an environment of both study and training, creating the biggest topic of the selection match.

Immediately after the selection, the lecture said, "I still can't believe it. It's like a dream. I didn't know it was the first time I was a middle school student, and I only focused on each and every step of the game," he said.

In the men's compound, Kim Kang-min (18, Incheon Youngseo) won the final first place and joined the national team. Kim Kang-min, a high school senior, joined the winter national team for the first time last year and showed rapid growth based on his experience in international competitions, matching the existing players. In particular, Choi Yong-hee (42, Hyundai Steel), the oldest member of the national team, showed a 24-year age difference, creating a symbolic scene of generational change.

Lecture books and Kim Kang-min proudly ranked at the top of the national team selection competition, which is dominated by adult athletes, showing the possibility of expanding the base of Korean archery and generational change at the same time.

In the women's recurve division, Kim Seo-ha (20, Suncheon University), who was born in 2006, joined the national team in sixth place, showing her presence in fierce competition. Recurve men's Moon Kyun-ho (National Military Sports Unit) and compound women's Lee Kang-ye (Korea National Sports University) were also selected for the national team for the first time, signaling a new wind.

Players proven on the international stage also joined the national team stably and took the center stage of the team. In the men's recurve, Olympic medalists such as Kim Je-deok (Yecheon County Office), Kim Woo-jin (Cheongju City Hall), Koo Bon-chan (Hyundai Steel), and Lee Woo-seok (Kolong) were named to the national team with their unchanged skills. In the women's recurve division, world-class players such as Ansan (Gwangju Bank), Kang Chae-young (Hyundai Mobis), and Jang Min-hee (Incheon City Hall) were selected for the national team based on their steady performance.

In particular, this competition proved once again Korea's unique thick layer of archery, showing the world's highest level of competitiveness, with three-time winner of the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games and three-time winner of the 2024 Paris Olympics being eliminated in the final 10th place.

Meanwhile, with the formal adoption of the compound event at the 2028 LA Olympics, competition for the compound team has never been more intense. In this selection match, existing representative players and new players competed evenly to form a new game. In particular, in the compound women's division, various players were at the top, further expanding the competition, and Park Jung-yoon (Changwon City Hall) joined the national team as the No. 1 overall player.

Ahead of this year's 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, the selected compound team will perform on an important stage to test new possibilities for archery in South Korea.

The 2026 national team is evaluated as a team that shows the "present and future" at the same time, harmonizing experienced players and energetic newcomers. An official from the Korea Archery Association said, "This selection match was more competitive than ever, and players of various generations played evenly," adding, "We will spare no support so that the selected players can perform their best on the international stage."

The national team, which was confirmed through this selection match, will enter Jincheon Training Center on March 23 and begin training in earnest for the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. The final entry of the three men's and women's recurve and compound to compete in the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games will be finalized on April 17 after the first warm-up match at Jeonbuk International Archery Field from March 30 to April 3 and the second warm-up match at Jinho International Archery Field in Yecheon from April 13 to 17.

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*This content was translated by AI.