Taiwanese archer Tang wins silver in men's recurve at Puebla World Cup

Taipei, April 13 (CNA) Olympic silver medalist Tang Chih-chun (湯智鈞) of Taiwan finished second in the men's recurve event at the 2026 Archery World Cup Stage 1 in Mexico on Sunday, in a tight competition against American Brady Ellison.

After four sets, Tang and Ellison were tied 4-4, but the American edged ahead in the fifth set, outscoring Tang 29-27 to take the final two points and win the match. Tang averaged 9.40 per shot in the final, slightly lower than Ellison's 9.53.

Under the rules, each archer shoots three arrows per set and earns two points for winning a set, and one point each in the event of a tie. Tang lost the first set but won the second, before tying with his opponent in the third and fourth sets.

In the semifinals, Tang defeated Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Mete Gazoz of Turkey in a 10-9 shoot-off.

The World Cup in Puebla, Mexico -- Tang's first international tournament of the year -- was an opportunity for him to face off against top-tier international archers, and his performance in the final would have boosted his confidence, his coach Liu Chan-ming (劉展明) told CNA.

As part of the preparation for the tournament, Tang had a 12-day training stint in Japan with the Japanese national team in January, which helped him get into form early, the coach said.

"I would consider sending him abroad for training again after World Cup Stage 2," Liu said.

Tang, 25, won a silver medal in the men's team event at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and a gold at the Asian Games in Jakarta in 2018.