PARIS, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- The field of archery is always flooded with cheers from South Korean audience. However, among them, there is a South Korean that is cheering loudly for the Chinese team. This is Kwon Yong-hak, coach of China's women's archery team.
"Not many Chinese audience come to see archery, so I want to encourage and support the team with my cheers. I also came to see China's men's team match and shouted from the stands," said Kwon in fluent Chinese.
Kwon's story with China started in 2006. As a national champion in South Korea, he started to coach athletes after retiring and got acquainted with the archery team of Jiangsu province in China.
"At that time, I would go to Jiangsu province every summer to instruct their local team. The team's performance improved and they acknowledged my teaching method," said Kwon, adding that at that time, he did not expect to coach in China for long.
In the following years, Kwon coached in many places in China, including Xinjiang and Shanghai. "My method was working well with the Chinese teams, so I stayed in China," said Kwon. In 2013, he led the Shanghai men's team to win a gold medal at China's National Games.
To train the teams better, Kwon learned Chinese and rarely went back home for many years, but he thinks everything is worth it.
In the summer of 2022, Kwon became the coach of the Chinese national women's archery team for the Paris Olympics. It was not an easy job because the women's team has not won a medal in the past two Olympics.
"When coach Kwon came, there were significant changes in the team," said Yang Xiaolei, a member of China's women's archery team.
Mental power is crucial in archery. To train the team, Kwon put up a 3-meter-high training stand and required the archers to shoot on it. The archers on the team remarked that this high stand would shake a bit when the wind blows, making it a good exercise to train stability.
In the archery World Cup leading up to the Paris Olympics, the International Archery Federation conducted a survey predicting the championship outcome, with 97 percent of the votes favoring South Korea. The Chinese women's team withstood the pressure and achieved two victories over South Korea in Shanghai and Yecheon.
"Coach Kwon let us know that although we were not the favorites, the key is to focus wholeheartedly and give our all," said An Qixuan, another member of China's women's archery team.
In the women's team gold medal match here, Kwon stood behind the girls and cheered for them. After the team was defeated by South Korea by a little margin, he said with tears, "We won't give up, we will keep working hard and show the spirit of Chinese athletes."
"Although we didn't get the gold medal, we already improved a lot. I'm sure that we're on the right track with Kwon's coaching, and we'll do better next time," said Li Jiaman from team China.
Kwon already sees China as his second home. "I wouldn't be able to lead a team to play in the Olympics in South Korea, so I'm grateful for this opportunity. I hope one day China's archery team can stand on the top podium in the Olympics," said Kwon. .
