[Nagoya AG] "Personal Gold at Last": Lee Wooseok Defeats Nakanishi to Claim Individual Title at Asian Games

Four Gold Medals in Team Events at Olympics and Asian Games
Finally Wins First Asian Games Individual Gold After Silver and Bronze Medals

Woo Suk Lee clinched his first individual gold medal at the Asian Games by defeating Japan's Junya Nakanishi in the recurve individual final at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.

On October 3, at the multipurpose plaza of Okazaki Central Comprehensive Park in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, Woo Suk Lee triumphed over Junya Nakanishi in the men’s individual recurve archery final for the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, with a set score of 6-2 (29-26, 27-27, 29-29, 29-27) to claim the championship.

Woo Suk Lee is celebrating after winning the gold medal by defeating Japan’s Junya Nakanishi in the men’s individual recurve archery final held on the 3rd at the multipurpose plaza of Okazaki Central Comprehensive Park in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, for the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. Photo by Yonhap News

Until now, Woo Suk Lee had earned a total of four gold medals—one at the Olympics and three at the Asian Games—but all of them were in the team events.

He had long struggled to capture gold in individual competitions. In the Asian Games individual events, he won a silver medal at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games and a bronze medal at the 2022 Hangzhou Games. He also took home a bronze in the individual event at the 2024 Paris Olympics. By finally winning gold in the individual event at this year’s Asian Games, Lee ended his run of near-misses and celebrated his third personal medal on the Asian Games stage with a gold.

In the first set, Woo Suk Lee took control against the still-tense Nakanishi. While Nakanishi failed to hit a single shot in the 10-point range, Lee scored 10 points on both his second and third arrows, securing the set 29-26.

Nakanishi continued to struggle in the second set, unable to score a 10. Although Lee’s first arrow landed at 8, both archers ended the set with 27 points each, resulting in a 27-27 draw.

In the third set, Nakanishi finally scored a 10 for the first time, raising his performance, and Lee responded in kind. Both athletes finished the set tied at 29-29, allowing Lee to maintain a 4-2 lead in set points.

In the fourth set, Nakanishi’s first arrow scored 9, while Lee ramped up the momentum with a 10. The second set of arrows saw Nakanishi once again score 9 and Lee hit 10. With Nakanishi only managing another 9 on his final arrow, Lee needed just 8 or more to secure the gold. He calmly delivered a 9 with his last arrow, sealing the gold medal.

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