Lee Woo-seok Wins Asian Games Individual Recurve Gold

South Korean archer Lee Woo-seok won the men’s individual recurve title at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Saturday, defeating Japan’s Junya Nakanishi 6-2 in the final and collecting his second gold medal of the competition.

Lee delivered the victory at Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Multipurpose Square in Okazaki, about 50 kilometers southeast of Nagoya, the Games’ main host city. The result added the individual crown to the gold he had already earned with South Korea in the men’s team recurve event.

The final was decided through the set-point system used in recurve archery. Lee began strongly, opening the first set with two arrows in the 10-ring. He then recorded an 8 in the second set, but still matched Nakanishi’s total of 27 to split the available set points and move ahead 3-1 overall.

Nakanishi raised the pressure in the third set by shooting two 10s. Lee answered with two 10s of his own, preserving control of the match and extending his advantage to 4-1. In the fourth set, the South Korean again produced two 10s and completed the 6-2 win.

The individual gold marked an improvement on Lee’s result at the previous Asian Games in Hangzhou, where he took bronze in the same event. His success in Okazaki also gave him two titles at this edition of the continental competition, underscoring his role in South Korea’s recurve program across both team and individual formats.

The championship match carried an added home-crowd dimension, with Lee facing a Japanese opponent in Japan. Nakanishi’s strong shooting in the middle stages prevented Lee from pulling away immediately, but the Korean archer repeatedly matched the challenge with high-value arrows at the decisive moments.

Lee’s victory continued a productive Asian Games campaign for South Korean archery. The men’s team title had already put him on the top step of the podium alongside his teammates, while Saturday’s final gave him a second opportunity to finish the competition with gold.

By maintaining his early lead and closing the match in four sets, Lee converted a composed performance into the men’s individual championship. He leaves the Okazaki venue with two gold medals and a better individual result than at Hangzhou, where his campaign ended with bronze.