Kolkata, Oct 7: American great Brady Ellison says South Korea’s unmatched dominance in archery is rooted in a professional ecosystem where the sport enjoys the same status as cricket in India, which also remains “in hunt” for its elusive Olympic medal.
At 2024 Paris Olympics, Korea extended their dominance with their women’s team clinching a 10th straight gold medal to continue the country’s unbeaten streak since the event’s introduction at Seoul 1988.
In the men’s section, Kim Woo-jin grabbed his fifth Olympic gold – the most by any archer in history.
“Korea is the only country in the world with a truly professional setup. Every one of their archers makes a living just to shoot their bow, even if they’re not in the national team,” the five-time Olympian Ellison said on the sidelines of the inaugural Archery Premier League.
“Archery there is like cricket in India or American football in the US. Kids grow up dreaming of being professional archers. Their 50th-ranked archer probably earns more than I do back home.” He added that archers are treated as full-time professionals in Korea rather than just Olympic aspirants.
The 36-year-old, who holds the record for staying as world number one for the longest time in men’s recurve archery, from August 2011 to April 2013, further said the structure in Korea paves the way for an enormous talent pool and depth that others simply can’t match.
Having won five Olympic medals and a record World Cup podiums (60-plus) across stages and finals, Ellison knows a thing or two about winning at the highest levels, and the American feels India are always “in hunt” for that elusive Olympic medal.
“India are always in the hunt. You have a ton of medals at World Cups and Championships. If you put your best two recurve shooters together in the mixed team, they’ll be extremely hard to beat,” he said.
At LA 2028, compound section will make its debut in the mixed team event.
“I think India would have a great shot at medals — not just in compound, but in recurve too. You’ve got some archers shooting incredibly well right now.
“Put two of those together in a mixed team and they’ll be hard to beat. LA is still three years away, but India’s definitely on the upswing.” (PTI)
