Chinese Taipei’s young recurve archers shone on Friday as Tang Chih-Chun and Hsu Hsin-Tzu reached their first final fours at Madrid 2025 – the fourth and final stage of this year’s Hyundai Archery World Cup.
Tang, 24, defeated home favourite Andres Temiño Mediel – who was vocally supported by the Spanish crowd – 6-2 in the recurve men’s event, while Hsu, just 17, overcame France’s Amélie Cordeau 7-1 in the women’s.
Neither faced a pre-tournament favourite on the path to the semis, as major contenders – including reigning Olympic Champions Kim Woojin, Lim Sihyeon (both from Paris 2024) and Mete Gazoz (Tokyo 2020) – were all upset in early rounds.
Still, a final four is a final four – and with gusty winds making conditions tricky for many of the 128 archers on the field, Tang and Hsu stood among the few who managed them best.
“Since my first World Cup, the goal for my coach and I is to reach the podium,” said Tang, who had never advanced past the quarterfinals at a World Cup before Friday. “I’m very excited. It’s an honour to stand together Olympic gold medallists like Woojin and many other outstanding archers.”
“I just kept telling myself that it’s [wind] not a problem for me, to focus. Also, it can make me more confident if I lie to myself.”
Wind had been relatively calm earlier in the week, but Friday brought stronger gusts to Vallehermoso Stadium. Archers were often forced to reset mid-draw and wait for conditions to ease before releasing their shots.
It was a choice: trust your shot through the wind – or wait for the perfect moment.
