Archery gains popularity among Chinese university students

An athlete from China's archery team competes in the men's compound archery team final at the 31st FISU World University Games in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province, on July 30, 2023. (China Youth Daily/Zhao Di)

Archery is enjoying growing popularity among Chinese university students.

At the ongoing 31st FISU World University Games in Chengdu, located in southwest China's Sichuan Province, China's archery team, comprising three members – Du Meiyu, Wang Shikun, and Chen Yansong – clinched the title in the men's compound archery team event. This victory signifies the Chinese archery team's first gold medal in this category at the FISU World University Games.

Du started to learn archery when he was 13. Now, as the head of the Archery Club at Tongji University in Shanghai, he asserts that the club is one of the most popular student organizations at the university.

Wang Ting, the coach of the Chinese compound men's archery team and a PE teacher at Shanxi University in north China's Shanxi Province, suggests that archery is an excellent sport for students seeking activities that are not too athletically intensive. Also serving as the coach of the university's archery club, Wang has noticed a rising interest in archery among university students today.

According to Wang, archery brings many benefits to its practitioners. It encourages archers to maintain a proper posture, develop confidence, and cultivate a sound state of mind and self-control.

Moreover, Wang states that archery helps practitioners understand and learn traditional Chinese culture. Archery was included in school curriculums as early as 3,000 years ago in China, said Wang. The China University Archery Championships, held annually, includes events aimed at preserving traditional archery.

According to Zhang Bo, deputy head of the Chinese archery team for the Chengdu Universiade and deputy dean of the School of Physical Education and Health at Shanghai University of International Business and Economics, nearly 200 universities in China offer archery courses, and over 100 universities include it in their curriculums. About 500 to 600 students from around 70 Chinese universities participate in university archery competitions each year. All these factors reflect archery's growing popularity among Chinese university students.