Li Jiaman was the only archer to feature in all three, but after three consecutive seasons, the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games bronze medallist – who has been China’s most consistent performer in that time – did not make the four-strong recurve women’s cut this time.
She has flown the flag for China but Zhu broke out of the shadow in Gwangju when she reached the world championships final, coming up short to an in-form – and one of Korea’s many modern-day greats – Kang Chaeyoung that day, 7-3.
A dominance such as three golds in one day, though, is something not even Li has mastered yet, and at just 19, the world is Zhu’s oyster.
Korea is coming, however.
Their intense national trials will have been finished by the time stage two – in Shanghai – comes around next month, and it will be interesting to see how much Zhu has grown from then against any of Korea’s best in a potential medal match.
But this time it will be on her home turf.
“Even though I didn’t get to win, I’m still very happy about it,” Jingyi responded about the difficulty of losing the title of world champion last year. “In the process, I’m constantly learning and improving myself, so that any mistakes made by the shots can be corrected in subsequent training.”
The new energy of 18-year-old Yu as well – whose individual silver and team gold are impressive in her first World Cup – is another aspect to watch, and she too could pose the Koreans a challenge this season.
Brady Ellison emerged victorious in the recurve men’s category, with Sunday’s being his 20th final four on the circuit.
He and Zhu have booked themselves into the 2026 Hyundai Archery World Cup Final later this year, which returns to Mexico in September, but there are still three more stages for archers to get their tickets to Saltillo, with Shanghai next up on the tour, beginning on 5 May.
