2012 London Summer Olympics

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Determination can move mountains -- and help erase a few records. That perhaps is the motto of South Korean archer, Im Dong-hyun, who eclipsed his 72-arrow world record at the hallowed Lord's cricket ground turf with a score of 699.

Im and his teammates, Oh Jin-hyek and Kim Bub-min, also smashed the team world record with an aggregate score of 2,087. Records are fine but what to say about a person who is legally blind, doesn't use specs and still shoot in the bullseye 99 out of a 100 times. Winner of gold in Athens (2004 team event) And Beijing (2008 team event), he has been in great form after he lost is No.1 ranking to Brady Ellison of the US last year.

He had set the previous record too (696) in Antalya, Turkey in May this year and the 699 has made his a strong contender for a hat-trick of title at the Olympics. But Im, who knows the fickle nature of the sport, wasn't too cocky after the world record score, only saying that he was not getting too excited about it as it was only the preliminary round. Im, who needs to be 10 times closer to view an object than someone with a perfect vision, will next face Emanuele Guidi of San Marino, ranked 64th, in the first round.

The Koreans were on a different plain, with the second-best score of 698 coming from Kim Bub-min, while Oh Jin-hyek amassed 690 to aggregate 2,087, also a world record. A beaming South Korean coach, Jang Young-sool, told reportes that it was a good sign that one of his archers might finally lay his hands on an individual gold. The Koreans have not won an individual gold at the Games, despite having three top-team finishes in the mega event.

 

 

Dong-Hyun Eclipses own World-Record in Archery