We’re not even halfway through the recurve men individual competition at Gwangju but the most memorable match of the World Championships occurred earlier today.
Marcus D’Almeida met Olympic champion Kim Woojin in the third round and took out the all time great 6-4 at the Gwangju International Archery Centre in a compelling contest.
Not only was it a meeting between the world number two and the world number three – which saw four out of the five ends tied – but unwavering adaptability by Brazil’s D’Almeida.
“I knew it was going to be a hard one,” said the 27 year old who lost to Woojin in the Antalya 2024 World Cup gold medal match. “He’s very much the greatest of all time for the sport and I knew how difficult it was going to be.”
“I needed a 30 to tie and win the match, and I did that. In the middle of the first match, I started with the yellow bow and lost two points so I changed it.”
“My sight was corrected [on the second bow], and I started becoming better. I don’t care about the mistake; I care about how I can do better. If I do badly, I’ll try something else to be good. That’s important for me.”
What makes it even more incredible was that very bow – sporting a blue riser than the South American champion’s usual yellow one – had only been put together the last couple days.
Three days ago, he broke limbs during practice and with little time to retune put together a completely new bow.
D’Almeida switching to the spare in the first round only adds insult to injury for Woojin, who was visibly fuming at the end of the match.
“I’m out of the individuals but what can you do? There’s always going to be another,” was all he could say.
It is true there will always be another match, another medal, another time to display his greatness but Woojin will know deep down there may not be another chance to be crowned World champion in Korea again.
He can make up for his early individual ousting this afternoon in the mixed and men’s team finals at 5.18 Democracy Square.
