Korean W1 archer Kim Ok Geum took the women’s W1 title at the Hyundai Bangkok 2026 Hyundai World Archery Para Series event, the first circuit event under that banner.
Kim, the world number four and a Paralympic silver medallist, beat Swati Chaudhary – almost thirty years her junior – 7-3 in sets with consistent and strong shooting against the Indian archer. She had thrashed another Indian, Anjum Tanwar, 6-0 in the semi-final.
Kim only began archery in her fifties, yet her willingness to work and compete at the very highest level has led her to multiple team and individual medals ever since her international debut in 2014, including a Paralympic mixed team silver team medal at Rio 2016. She placed fourth in the individual competition at Paris 2024, competing as one of the oldest Paralympians.
After spending much of her career in compound, she won a world championship gold in Gwangju in the women’s W1 doubles team event with Lee Eunhee, an event splashed widely across Korean media.
There was a shock in compound women, as reigning world champion and top seed Sheetal Devi was beaten by her teammate Payal Nag, 139-136, after Devi failed to hit the middle in the third and fourth ends.
Nag, a quadruple amputee, has an extraordinary back story to match Devi’s and was profiled by World Archery last month.
Devi and Nag had worked together as a team to win gold in the doubles final on Saturday, but here they faced off against each other for individual gold.
It is the 18-year-old Nag’s first international medal.
