Republic of Korea archers train with confidence

Women's team in training (Photo credit: Xinhua)(BEIJING, August 4) -- The six archers of the Republic of Korea are strongly favored to medal in both team and individual categories at this year's Games. The national team has dominated Olympic competition since 1988, taking three of the four gold medals in both 2000 and 2004.

During a training session at the Olympic Green Archery Field on Monday, team members expressed their confidence for another strong showing in Beijing.

Athens Women's Individual gold medalist Park Sung-Hyun commented on defending her 2004 Olympic title: "I'm not focused on the gold medal. I just want to do my best."

Park's teammate, 26-year-old Joo Hyun-Jung also expressed her confidence: "I feel like I can win, 100 percent, but it depends on the conditions. Fifty percent is ability and 50 percent is good fortune."

Im Dong-Hyun, 2004 Men's Team Olympic Champion, is aiming for both Team and Individual gold at this year's Games: "My target is the gold medal. I have a good sense of shooting. I am feeling comfortable and mentally composed."

Archery competition begins with Men's and Women's Ranking Rounds on Saturday, August 9, Day 1 of the Olympics.