Kim Jong-ho of South Korea shoots an arrow during the men’s individual compound qualification round at the 2025 World Archery Championships at the Gwangju International Archery Center in Gwangju, South Jeolla Province, Saturday. (Yonhap) The 2025 World Archery Championships entered full competition mode Saturday, as compound qualification rounds took place at the Gwangju International Archery Center in Gwangju, South Jeolla Province.
The eight-day tournament, which officially kicked off with compound practice sessions on Friday, runs through next Friday. It marks the first time in 16 years since South Korea last hosted the event in Ulsan in 2009.
This year’s championships bring together 731 participants — including 501 athletes and 220 officials — from 76 countries, including host nation South Korea.
A total of 10 gold medals are up for grabs — five each in compound and recurve.
Archers compete in the men’s individual compound qualification round at the 2025 World Archery Championships in Gwangju, Saturday. (Yonhap) 
Archers compete in the men’s individual compound qualification round at the 2025 World Archery Championships in Gwangju, Saturday. (Yonhap) South Korea’s compound teams feature medalists from past Asian Games and recent World Cup events.
In the men’s division, Choi Yong-hee leads the team alongside Kim Jong-ho and Choi Eun-kyu. Choi and Kim were part of the gold medal-winning squad at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games.
The women’s team includes So Chae-won, Shim Su-in and Han Seung-yeon, who claimed team gold at the fourth stage of the 2025 Hyundai Archery World Cup.
The recurve lineup includes several Olympic champions.
The men’s team consists of Kim Woo-jin, Kim Je-deok and Lee Woo-seok, who won team gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The women’s team includes Lim Si-hyeon, a triple gold medalist in Paris, as well as Tokyo 2020 triple gold medalist An San and team gold medalist Kang Chae-young.
Following Saturday’s qualification rounds, the compound mixed team final will take place Sunday, with the men’s and women’s individual finals scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, respectively.
Recurve events begin Monday with official practice. The recurve mixed team final is set for Wednesday, followed by the men’s final on Thursday and the women’s final on Friday.
Choi Eun-kyu of South Korea retrieves his arrows after checking the target during the men’s individual compound qualification round at the 2025 World Archery Championships in Gwangju, Saturday. (Yonhap) flylikekite@heraldcorp.com