Korea’s Oh Yejin refused to get carried away after securing her first Hyundai Archery World Cup top seed in recurve women’s qualification at Antalya 2026 on Wednesday.
The Suwon 2024 Asia Cup winner – where she was also the top seed – was tied with Zhu Jingyi of China on 339 points at the halfway stage of the 72-arrow qualification round.
Zhu edged ahead at that point with one more arrow in the X-ring – the central zone within the 10-ring used to break ties in qualification – while the four-point gap back to third-placed Kang Chaeyoung suggested the battle for top seed would come down to who blinked first.
Rather impressively, neither did.
Zhu repeated her opening 339, but Oh went one point better to finish on 684, recording six more arrows in the 10-ring overall than her Chinese rival and ending 10 points shy of Lim Sihyeon’s world record of 694.
“It feels good for starters,” said Oh, whose score also marked a new international personal best at 70 metres. “Since this is just the qualification round, I’m not letting my guard down.”
“I don’t usually get very nervous, so whether I’m on the final stage or not doesn’t seem to make much of a difference.”
“The main difference from Shanghai was that I was able to showcase more of what I’d been practising – my own flow.”
In stark contrast to the celebrations from China’s compound men’s team earlier in the day, Oh appeared quietly satisfied after securing top spot.
Had it not been for the fact the Korean is only 22 years old and competing in just her second Hyundai Archery World Cup, her composure throughout qualification might have suggested years of experience on the international stage.
