South Korea’s women’s archery team left behind the title of “world’s strongest team” and tasted the disappointment of “no medal” at the World Championships. Now it’s all about securing a ticket to next year’s Paris Olympics.

The Korean women’s archery recurve team finished with a bronze medal at the 2023 World Archery Championships in Berlin, Germany, on June 6 (KST).

The women’s team, comprised of Ahn An (Gwangju Women’s University), Lim Im-hyun (Korea Gymnastics University), and Kang Chae-young (Hyundai Mobis), lost to Indonesia 3-5 in the round of 16 in the team competition.

In the individual competition, Ahn, Lim, and Kang were all eliminated in the quarterfinals, leaving the team without a medal.

It has been 12 years since the last time Korea’s women’s recurve team won a medal at a world championship, in Turin in 2011.

This year’s tournament was especially important for the Korean women’s recurve team, as qualification for the Paris Olympics was on the line. The top three teams in the team competition (excluding hosts France) were able to secure early Olympic tickets. Once a team qualified, they automatically received three individual tickets.

However, the women’s team was unable to capitalize on their success as they were eliminated early in the round of 16.

In the women’s recurve team event, Germany took the gold, France the silver, and Mexico the bronze. Because France finished second, the Netherlands, who finished fourth, also punched their ticket to Paris.

Next year’s Olympic archery program will include 12 men’s and women’s teams, with four teams confirmed so far.

The unqualified women’s team will have to fight for the remaining spots.

Two of the eight tickets will be allocated to Europe and one to the Americas.

The one ticket for the Asian continent is up for grabs at the Asian Championships in Bangkok, Thailand, this November.

Since no Asian country secured a ticket at the World Championships, South Korea would have to win the tournament to get it.

If they don’t get a ticket here, they’ll have to wait until next June, right before the Olympics. That’s because three tickets are up for grabs for the third edition of the World Cup next June. You need to be in the top three, excluding the seven countries that have already secured tickets.

The final gateway is the Team World Rankings. If you finish the third edition of the World Cup and are among the top two teams in the updated world rankings, you’ll get a ticket.

With so many tickets still available, it’s highly unlikely that Korean women’s recurve won’t make it to the Olympics.

They finished first overall in the qualifiers with 2013 points and were swept by 17th-seeded Indonesia in the round of 16.

On the flip side, though, there’s no reason why it can’t happen again. South Korea, once the world’s strongest team, will have to learn from this humiliation.

Meanwhile, the men’s team of Kim Woo-jin (Cheongju City), Lee Woo-seok (Kolon), and Kim Jeduk (Yecheon County) topped Turkiye at the World Championships and booked their Olympic tickets. They also secured three individual spots, but the Olympic team will be finalized at the national selection trials next year.

For mixed events, only countries that have qualified both men and women are eligible to compete, 고스톱 meaning the women’s team must qualify in order for Korea to compete in the mixed event in Paris.