China Archery

One month later the national flag of China was hoisted again on the field where Zhang Juanjuan won the host the first Olympic gold medal in archery.

Chinese para-archer Cheng Changjie (in Chinese ???) beat Italian Marco Vitale 108-104 in men’s individual recurve w1/w2 on Sunday, the last individual event in the sport.

In the first series of the final, the 19-year-old on wheelchair didn’t start well with a 8 but progressed steadily with a 9 and a 10, achieving 27 points to beat his rival with 2 points.

He then kept the momentum to enlarge his advantage to 4 points in the second series.

Pulling himself together, the Italian showed his sharpness in the third series by posting a 10-9-9 tally. The gap was shortened to 3 points.

In the breathtaking last series, Vitale who started first aimed for a while and shot out the first arrow. A 10.

Cheng made a 9. Just two points ahead.

In the secord shot, both archers achieved 9. 99-97.

When many Chinese spectators were crossing fingers for their archer, Vitale lost his nerves. His score, a 7, gave the Chinese more hope.

Cheng managed to live up to the expectation of his supporters, finishing his performance with a third 9.

Almost all Chinese spectators stood up in excitement, while the champion unfolded a national flag and waved.

“I am so happy to be here,” said Cheng who smiled all the way to the press conference hall.

The teenage athlete lost his right leg in a car accident. “Thanks to those who supported me,” he said.

The bronze medal was grabbed by Tseng Lung-hui from Chinese Taipei, who won the hard-won medal after a shoot-off.

“I was so lucky,” he said, adding that he had recorded the performance of Cheng with his video camera, which he would bring back to show to his fellow archers. “I will tell them: look, this is the performance of the gold medalist.”

In the competition of men’s individual compound w1, Czech archer David Drahoninsky outscored world record holder British John Cavanagh 108-103. After winning the gold, the man with his hair dyed in the colors of Czech national flag rocked on his wheelchair.

Bronze medal was clinched by American shooter Jeff Fabry, who, without the right arm and leg, shot with his mouth but set the Paralympic record last Friday in the quarterfinal.

“Last Tuesday was the 30th wedding anniversary of my parents, and I will dedicate this medal to them,” said the gold medalist Drahoninsky who joked that his mom would hit him if he did not win and kiss him if he could bring back a medal.
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Source: China Daily Staff Writer
By Zhao Rui
Updated: 2008-08-13 09:06

Once the best in the world, archers from China’s Xibo ethnic minority are now making a comeback at the Olympics.
Xibo warriors began using the bow and arrow more than a thousand years ago, and their prowess was legendary. They helped the Yuan Dynasty armies sweep across the continent, and were said to be able to shoot their prey in the eye.
More recently, South Korean archers have dominated the Olympics, winning all major titles for more than a decade. Now, after winning two medals at the Beijing Games, the Xibo are back.

Leading the charge is Xue Haifeng, a modern Xibo archer who led China to a historic bronze on Monday.
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By Sarah Munday and agencies

Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou said he was confident that the island’s Olympians would return home from Beijing with a record haul of medals, besting the five won in Athens.

“I hope the athletes can continue the good performance in Athens to win more medals … Many of them are capable of wining gold medals,” Ma said during a visit to the national training centre in Zuoying, southern Taiwan.

“The athletes are training very hard and their coaches are working very hard to train them and our team’s morale is very high. I am very confident” about winning, said Ma.

The president, who took office in May, gave the Olympic team a traditional red envelope containing 200,000 Taiwan dollars (6,600 US) as encouragement.

According to the island’s Olympic Committee, Taiwan is sending 80 athletes to compete in 15 events including taekwondo, archery, tennis and baseball.

Hopes are high that it can make another breakthrough in Beijing after bringing home a record two golds, two silvers and one bronze from the Athens Games in 2004.

“We are aiming to do better than last time – to win at least three gold medals,” said Tsai Chen-wei, chairman of Taiwan’s Olympic Committee.

Taiwan is betting on taekwondo defending champion Chu Mu-yen, who bagged the island’s first-ever gold medal in the men’s flyweight division in Athens.

Hopes are also high for Chan Yung-Jan and Chuang Chia-Jung, who will make their Olympic debut in women’s tennis in Beijing.

The island’s archery teams, which collected a silver and a bronze in Athens, are also expected to do well.

Taiwan is rolling out hefty rewards for its Olympians – 12 million Taiwan dollars for a gold medal list, seven million for a silver and five million for a bronze.