The South Korean won 6-0 to end Khairul’s Tokyo 2020 journey in Round 3 of the individual men’s recurve event.
The world No 5 Kim served early notice of his intent when he shot three 10s for a perfect score of 30 in the first set at the Yumenoshima Park Archery Field here while Khairul could only reply with a 27 to trail 2-0.
The second set saw Kim shoot a near-perfect 10-9-10 for 29 points while Khairul had three 9s for a 27.
Former world champion Kim was again in sublime form in the third set, firing his arrow right at the bullseye three times in a row for 30 points.
Although Khairul deserves praise for coming close – shooting 9-10-10 for a 29 total – he knew that he lost to a better opponent as the South Korean wrapped up a 6-0 win.
When met by reporters, Khairul admitted that Kim was in a different league.
“Today, Alhamdulillah, I was better prepared compared to the previous rounds.
“I was more focused this time but he was way better than me although I gave it my best,” said the 29-year-old Khairul, who is now 0-5 in his head-to-head record against the South Korean.
He will now focus on getting ready for several major tournaments next year, among them the Commonwealth Games in England; the Asian Games in China; the SEA Games in Vietnam; and the World Championships in the US.
“Actually I pay more attention to the team recurve event. My participation in the individual event is a bonus.
“I will now make a concerted effort to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics. I need to improve in terms of shooting in future tournaments so that I will be really prepared for the 2024 Games,” he said.
Asked about the gap in standards between Malaysian and South Korean archers, Khairul explained that the South Korean archers are taught the basics of archery at a younger age compared to their Malaysian counterparts.
“I began representing Terengganu at the 2008 Sukma and it was only when I attended the Bukit Jalil Sports School in 2011 that I was given an in-depth explanation on the basics of archery.
“That’s what differentiates the majority of Malaysian archers compared to South Korean archers, who frequently dominate world-level competitions. But I have to say that although we are introduced to the basics at a later stage, it is not impossible for us to challenge them one day,” he said.