by sportswriter Zhang Rongfeng
BEIJING, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- Yun Ok-Hee tied the
Olympic 12-arrow record with 114 points in her individual elimination match
against Marie-Pier Beaudet from Canada at the Olympic archery field on Tuesday.
"I didn't know I tied it. I don't care about that
record. I want to get a higher score in the next round. I want to get a gold
medal, but I think gold medals are decided by God," said Yun, No. 2 seed here,
on tying the Olympic 12 arrow record set by South Korean Kim Soo-Nyung in
Barcelona 1992.
Yun's coach, Moon Hyung-Chul, put off further
treatment of thyroid cancer for the sake of Beijing Games.
"When I heard the news in December about his cancer,
I was really worried about him, but he keeps saying, 'I'm OK, don't worry'. I
really want to get a medal for him. I want to show him how much I appreciate
him," said the 23-year-old.
Apart from Yun, the most notable archers advancing to
the 1/8 women's individual elimination matches on Aug. 14 include Khatuna Lorig
from United States, Berengere Schuh of France, Zhang Juanjuan of China and Joo
Hyun-Jung of South Korea.
Lorig was the biggest surprise of the day, triumphing
over Alison Williamson of Britain 112-109 in the 1/16 elimination round. Lorig,
the No. 26 seed, is a four-time Olympian and team bronze medallist from
Barcelona in 1992.
Williamson, the No. 7 seed, is a five-time Olympian
and the individual bronze medalist in Athens in 2004. Lorig beat Virginie Arnold
of France, the team bronze medalist from Saturday, in the 1/32 elimination
round.
Schuh shot the most impressive back-to-back scores of
the morning, beating Pia Carmen Lionetti of Italy 112-107 and Japan's Sayoko
Kitabatake 112-100.
Chinese Taipei archer Yuan Shu Chi's hopes for an
Individual medal were dashed when she lost her 1/16 elimination match to Zhang
110-105. Yuan was fourth at Athens in 2004.
Before facing Yuan, Zhang, a clear crowd favorite,
won her 1/32 match against Tetyana Berezhna of Ukraine 109-97.
South Korean archers Joo and Yun made it through the
first two rounds easily. Joo clinched her 1/32 match 108-98 against Sigrid
Romero of Colombia even before the last arrow was shot. Joo then took out
Natalia Valeeva of Italy, the reigning world champion in the 1/16 elimination
match by 110-108.
In the elimination matches, archers shoot 12 arrows
for a total possible score of 120 points, alternating each arrow. Yun set the
world record of 119 at the 2008 World Cup in Antalya, Turkey.