Archery's Park Jung-yun, who earned a bronze medal and then a silver medal in a single day: "I will take gold, silver, and bronze" [On-site from Okazaki]

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Park Jung-yun (29, Changwon City Hall), who has already won a bronze medal in the compound women's team event and a silver medal in the mixed team event at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, expressed her determination to win gold in the individual event, stating, "I will take gold, silver, and bronze."

After finishing the compound mixed team final at the multi-purpose plaza of Okazaki Central Comprehensive Park in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, on the 30th, Park Jung-yun met with reporters and said, "My mindset was to win at least one medal, regardless of its color," adding with a smile, "I am truly grateful that this result came out, so I feel very fortunate."

Earlier that day, Park Jung-yun teamed up with Park Ye-rin (Korea National Sport University) and Kang Yeon-seo (Seongsa Middle School) to secure a bronze medal in the women's team event. She then immediately advanced to the semifinals and final of the mixed team event alongside Choi Yong-hee (Hyundai Steel). In the mixed final, the pair fought India to a tense 157-157 tie before ultimately losing in the shoot-off.

She said, "Honestly, I just wanted it to go to a shoot-off. My goal for this mixed team event was not about winning or losing, but rather that I would be satisfied with my own performance." She continued, "I didn't care about the result. So it's fine, but actually, I wanted to tell (Choi Yong-hee) hyung that he shouldn't feel sorry because I told him it was okay." In the shoot-off, Choi Yong-hee's final arrow scored 9 points, resulting in a loss for South Korea.

She also expressed her gratitude to her younger teammates who helped secure the bronze medal in the women's team event earlier.

Park Jung-yun said, "They didn't rest when they should have and came out to train even on weekends. They shot arrows from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day. Because of these hours of hard work, we entered the competition with high expectations." She added, "During regular training, we usually shoot around 300-something arrows, and if we include night training, we shoot up to about 500 arrows."

She continued, "Actually, compound archery was not even an event at the National Sports Festival. So it didn't receive much attention, and there were many shortcomings in the conditions for athletes." She smiled and added, "Now it has been adopted into the National Sports Festival and is also an official Olympic event. With the emergence of elementary school athletes and a thickening athlete base that was originally thin, skill levels seem to be becoming more evenly high."

Park Jung-yun, who was an archer until elementary school before putting down her bow and restarting as an adult, eventually winning an Asian Games medal, said, "I never regret the choices I have made." She added, "I am grateful simply for being able to do what I love directly."

Having advanced to the quarterfinals of the individual event, she is challenging for a gold medal in this discipline. She stated, "Compared to India, I felt that our country's competitiveness has risen significantly. When we actually competed against them, I didn't feel such a high wall and thought it was worth a try." She added her resolve to complete the final piece of the puzzle by winning the remaining gold medal in the individual event, saying, "I will bring back 'gold, silver, and bronze.'"

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original