Wu Chunyan (Photo World Archery)
China’s Wu Chunyan took a historic fourth world para title in recurve women’s open at the Gwangju 2025 World Archery Para Championships, beating her teammate Gao Zihan 6-0.
After a testy opening set, Chunyan just edged the second set with a clutch nine for 28 to go four points up. Gao found a ten to close out the last set and apply some pressure but Wu calmly responded with a ten of her own to close it out.
It was a composed, champion performance, and her fourth gold after individual wins in Donaueschingen 2015, ’s-Hertogenbosch 2019, and Pilsen 2023 – but her first successful defence.
Wu is now the first para competitor to take four world championship titles with the same bow. (Korea’s Lee Ouk Soo of Korea also took four titles, but in both recurve W2 and compound).
The bronze was won by 23-year-old Wang Xueqian, in her first international competition, completing a Chinese clean sweep of the women’s podium.
Wang beat Elisabetta Mijno in that match, who after failing to make the individual final for the chance at the medal she wanted the most, then managed to lose all three finals on the stage, including the individual bronze final, in a shoot-off, after fighting back from 5-1 down.
The men’s individual title was won by Stefano Travisani of Italy, beating neutral athlete Anton Ziapaev 7-1, in a one-sided final.
After splitting the first set, Travisani was gifted the second and third after Ziapaev, scoring well, was unable to close either of them out. The same happened in the last, with Travisani consistent enough to finish it off.
It was an impressive bounce back for the Italian after losing two team finals earlier in the session. “I’ve never actually won the individual, so this is really different,” he said.
“Yes, I started off a bit cautiously, but the tension was there, which is normal, but then I loosened up and went all the way. But I was determined, and that was the right approach.”
The men’s bronze went to Hanreuchai Netsiri of Thailand, who thumped Samuel Molina 6-0 with some powerhouse scoring after the Mexican failed to really get going. It was yet another big international medal for the Thai, the runner up at Rio 2016.
The big surprise in the team competitions was Mongolia. The mixed team pairing of Demberel Selengee and Namjilmaa Munkhbaatar, who had already caused a sensation by relegating defending champions China to the bronze match on Friday, went on to win perhaps the most exciting final of the day against Italy.
The shoot-off saw 20 beat 19, and Mongolia had their second title of the day, after the women’s team of Demberel and Buyanjargal Oyun-Erdene had walloped Korea for gold.
Two golds for Mongolia – after their best previous result had been a bronze in Dubai in 2022, an event that China were unable to attend – perhaps counts as the biggest result of the day. “I came here with the goal of winning two gold medals and I have achieved it. I accept this responsibility and my heart is full of joy,” said Demberel.
While China were still very much top of the medal table after Gwangju wrapped, there were a few medals missed and the rest of the world had definitely caught up in several places. Australia beckons in 2027.
Meanwhile, China’s Zhang Tianxin became the only triple gold medallist of the Gwangju 2025 World Archery Para Championships, after winning individual gold against the favourite Jason Tabansky, 138-132.
A poor start from Paralympic champion Tabansky left him four points adrift after the first end, a position he never improved on with Zhang shooting consistently and solidly on the stage. A fourth end with the American posting two eights sank the boat.
Zhang had earlier won mixed team gold paired with Wang Liya, where he didn’t leave the gold ring once, as well as the men’s doubles with Li Pan.
The 27-year-old was quick to praise his opponent. “It’s great that in my competitive career, I have achieved yet another Grand Slam title.”
“My opponent was exceptionally strong. He’s always been my benchmark. To have defeated him this time, I feel truly honoured.”
Zhang, who took individual bronze in Paris along with a team gold, finally has an individual world gold to go with multiple continental individual and team titles.
The bronze medal in the men’s competition went to Park Hong Jo of Korea, beating Nihat Türkmenoǧlu of Türkiye 137-131.
Park was also part of the mixed team that took bronze with veteran Kim Ok Geum, and also took a bronze as part of the men’s team, with Kim Haksun that beat Thailand for the last podium spot, to leave with an impressive three medals.
The individual women’s W1 gold went to the world number one, Czechia’s Sarka Pultar Musilova, who beat another familiar face on the circuit, Isabel Fernandez Jimenez of Spain, 134-129.
She would be another three medal winner today, although the Czechia mixed team of Musilova and David Drahoninsky however didn’t really get close to China in the final, and were comprehensively outscored 146-139.
Musilova was also part of the women’s team with Tereza Brandtlova that took bronze at the expense of Türkiye, meaning she leaves Gwangju with a full suite of medals: gold, silver and bronze.
“I didn’t expect to win three medals and the whole collection. If anyone had told me that, I would have sent them to a mental hospital,” said Musilova.
There was national pride in evidence, after a good meet for the Czechia team. “We’ll leave here with pride that the work we are doing is excellent and, above all, that it leads to success. I think that this is not only for us, but actually for the whole Czech Republic,” she said.
China didn’t have it all their own way, with Wang Liya beaten for individual bronze by Musilova’s teammate Brandtlova. Wang was also part of the women’s doubles team with Cen Mengkan that lost a disastrous gold final to Korea, 140-122 with Wang shooting a three in the second end followed by a four in the third.
Indeed, Korea were perhaps the biggest winners of the day, winning all their team finals matches and finally delivering a world gold medal to the 65-year-old Kim Ok Geum, after a dogged international career lasting over a decade.
STANDINGS
Recurve men:
- Stefano Travisani, Italy
- Anton Ziapaev, AIN
- Hanruechai Netsiri, Thailand
Recurve women
- Wu Chunyan, China
- Gao Zihan, China
- Wang Xueqian, China
Recurve men’s team
- China (Gan Jun, Zhao Lixue)
- Slovakia (David Ivan, Denis Ivan)
- Korea (Kim Jung-hoon, Lee Jihoon)
Recurve women’s team
- Mongolia (Demberel Selengee, Buyanjargal Oyun-Erdenc)
- Korea (Kwon Hayeon, Lee Hwa Sook)
- China (Wu Chunyan, Gao Zihan)
Recurve mixed team
- Mongolia (Demberel Selengee,, Namjilmaa Munkhbaatar)
- Italy Stefano Travisani, Elisabetta Mijno)
- China (Wu Chunyan, Lixue Zhao)
W1 men
- Zhang Tianxin, China
- Jason Tabansky, USA
- Park Hong Jo, Korea
W1 women
- Sarka Pultar Musilova, Czechia
- Isabel Fernandez Jimenez, Spain
- Tereza Brandtlova, Czechia
W1 men’s team
- China (Zhang Tianxin, Li Pan)
- Türkiye (Yigit Caner Aydin, Nihat Turkneoglu)
- Korea (Park Hong Jo, Kim Haksun)
W1 women’s team
- Korea (Kim Ok Geum, Eunhee Lee)
- China (Wang Liya, Cen Mengkan)
- Czechia (Sarka Pultar Musilova, Tereza Brandtlova)
W1 mixed team
- China (Wang Liya, Zhang Tianxin)
- Czechia (Sarka Pultar Musilova, David Drahoninsky)
- Korea (Kim Ok Geum, Park Hong Jo)
