World champion Kim Woojin tops men's qualifying at Rio 2016 archery test event

The Rio 2016 test event was held at Sambódromo ©World Archery

South Korea’s Kim Woojin topped qualifying at the Aquece Rio International Archery Challenge, which doubles as a Rio 2016 Olympic test event, with the world champion earning a total of 690 points in the men’s recurve.

Held in Rio’s iconic Sambódromo, the event was designed to give archers the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the venue ahead of next year’s Games, and Woojin adapted immediately after scoring 347 with his first 36 arrows to top the early standings.

The two-time world champion then backed up the performance by achieving a score of 343 with his second batch of arrows to end the competition just shy of the world record total of 699, set by his compatriot Im Dong Hyun at the London 2012 Olympics.

Canada’s Crispin Duenas was the second place finisher in the qualifying round having scored an overall total of 685, while Japan’s Takaharu Furukawa was a further point adrift in third.

Despite the success of the individual qualifying event, Woojin was left disappointed in the team event as alongside Oh Jin Hyek and Ku Bonchan the Koreans failed to finish in the top 16 teams, due to Hyek failing to complete his scorecard correctly.

India emerged as the top team with their archers scoring a total of 1996 to see them finish two points clear of Canada.

Meanwhile, in the women’s event Ki Bo Bae, Kang Chae Young and Choi Misun all delivered excellent rounds to move the South Korean team to the top of the leaderboard having been the only team to shoot over 2000 points.

Their total of 2028 saw them finish clear of Russia and Chinese Taipei, who ended with totals of 1979 and 1966 respectively.

South Korea dominated the women's qualification events ©World Archery

The South Korean team’s dominance of the qualifying was reflected by all three of their archers leading the individual standings with the reigning Olympic and world champion Bae finishing top with a total of 681, although she was unhappy with her overall performance.

“The results were okay but my shooting was bad,” she claimed afterwards.

“Being in Rio this week is not just about the results.

“This is just a test event for us to try and work things out.

“What I really want, and care about, is making the national Olympic team.”

Her compatriot Chae Young was the next highest finisher by ending with a total of 676, while Misun ended five shots further back.