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| Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, November 15, 2001 |
China to Re-employ South Korean Archery Coach |
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China expects to break the Korean dominance in archery by re-employing a South Korean to coach its national archery team, according to an official of the State General Administration of Sports.
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China expects to break the Korean dominance in archery by re-employing a South Korean to coach its national archery team, according to an official of the State General Administration of Sports.
While attending the ongoing 9th National Games here, Zhou Yuan, who is in charge of the archery sport in the administration, told Xinhua that a plan has been made to invite Yang Chang Hoon of South Korea to be the head coach of China's national archery team once again.
Yang, a former member of the South Korean men's archery team, was first invited to train the Chinese team in July. Two months later, China scored a historic victory in the recurve women's team event in September to win the gold at the 41st World Outdoor Target Archery Championships held in Beijing.
The Chinese men's team also achieved their best-ever results by seizing the bronze medal.
"We could make the breakthrough thanks to Yang's expertise and training," said Zhou, saying his training methods helped Chinese archers improve both their techniques and their psychological endurance for fierce competitions.
"He also put up strict demands on archers, and corrected their mistakes timely," Zhou added.
Yang fulfilled his two-month contract and returned home after the Beijing world championships, Zhou said. But the improved performance of the Chinese team after his training has deeply impressed the Chinese sports officials.
South Korea is one of the leading archery nations in the world and has won 11 Olympic gold medals since the 1984 Los Angeles Games, he said. The South Korean women's squad are a dream team in the sport as they swept gold medals in all major international competitions over the past years. At the millennium Sydney Olympics, they clinched the stunning top three finishers in the women's event.
Therefore, Zhou said, China's archery team is going to re-employ Yang for its preparations for the 2004 Athens Olympics.
"Once we settle the issue of his payment, which is around 900,000 yuan (over US$100,000) a year, Yang will come to take his post," Zhou said.
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