3-time gold medallist archer An San fails to qualify for Paris Olympics 2024

South Korea’s An San has failed to break into her country’s archery team for the Paris Olympics 2024. The 23-year-old missed the bus after she could not finish in the top 16 of the trials among the 24 women.

Last year, An bagged the silver medal in the individual event of the Asian Games 2023 in Hangzhou. Apart from that, she also brought home the gold medal in the women’s team event.

An, who also has three Olympic gold medals to her name, was in great touch. However, she lost her rhythm and agonizingly missed out on a ticket to Paris.

“An San failed to make it to the national team this year because she did not make it into the top 16,” South Korean media outlet STN was quoted as saying on Tuesday, March 12.

“This serves as a reminder that winning a domestic competition is not necessarily easier than winning an international competition,” the statement added.

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An San’s incredible Tokyo Olympics campaign

The Tokyo Olympics two and a half years ago turned out to be memorable for An. She became the first woman to win three gold medals in archery since 1904. She finished on top of the podium in the team, mixed team, and individual events.

But despite her unreal success, she had to face sexist remarks for keeping short hair despite being a girl. However, An got support from the female sporting fraternity.

South Korea have been the team to beat since archery was introduced in the 1988 edition of the Olympics. Their women’s team has won gold medals in all nine editions of the mega event since then.

Apart from her stupendous run in Tokyo, An was also impressive at the World Archery Championships that took place in Yankton in 2021. She won gold medals in the team and mixed team events, and finished with bronze in individuals.