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regular-article-logo Thursday, 25 April 2024

Tokyo Olympics: An hits bullseye with gold hat-trick

Top-seeded An held her nerve as her final and semi-final went to shootoffs, downing Elena Osipova of the Russian Olympic Committee to take gold

Reuters Tokyo Published 31.07.21, 02:15 AM
The 20-year-old An, already a double gold medallist in the women’s and mixed teams events, became a target for online hostility at home after cutting her hair short, a look labelled “feminist” by some social media users.

The 20-year-old An, already a double gold medallist in the women’s and mixed teams events, became a target for online hostility at home after cutting her hair short, a look labelled “feminist” by some social media users. Twitter/@Olympics

An San kept South Korea’s Olympic flag flying in women’s archery on Friday as she took the individual title, shrugging off online bullying over her hairstyle to become the first archer to win three golds at a single Games.

Top-seeded An held her nerve as her final and semi-final went to shootoffs, downing Elena Osipova of the Russian Olympic Committee to take gold. Lucilla Boari claimed bronze to become the first Italian female archer to win an Olympic medal.

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The 20-year-old An, already a double gold medallist in the women’s and mixed teams events, became a target for online hostility at home after cutting her hair short, a look labelled “feminist” by some social media users.

That term has become associated with a rise in misogynist sentiment among young South Korean men.

When she talked to reporters, her coach intervened and told them not to ask questions unrelated to the competition.

Vitalina prevails

Vitalina Batsarashkina prevailed in a Russian roulette against South Korean Kim Min-jung in the women’s 25m pistol event to claim her second gold medal in Tokyo on Friday.

Batsarashkina, who won the 10m pistol gold on Sunday, became the first female shooter to claim three medals at the same Olympics.

Both shot an Olympic record of 38 to force a shoot-off and the Russian cracked a wry smile after finding herself in yet another stalemate. “I am in shoot-offs very often and here was another one, so that amused me,” the 24-year-old said.

While “excited” with the result, Batsarashkina’s immediate reaction, however, was of homesickness.

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