SEOUL (AFP) – An archer from Chad has captured hearts in South Korea and been hailed by a K-Pop star for his “true Olympic spirit” after a Games debut where he almost missed the scoring rings.
Israel Madaye scored just one point with one of his arrows in the men’s individual against top South Korea archer Kim Woo-jin, who rattled home an almost perfect score of 88 out of 90.
The 36-year-old Madaye had a steady start, losing the first set 29-26.
He scored just 15 in the second, courtesy of the one-pointer, but composed himself to score 25 in the final set and finish on 66 points in last Tuesday’s contest.
Madaye had carried the central African nation’s flag at the Paris opening ceremony.
But turned up without his chest guard for the round of 32 contest and his extremely rare one point score has made him an unlikely hero in the archery powerhouse of South Korea.
After local media reported that Madaye had taught himself archery with limited resources, giving up his career as an electrician and training at a cemetery to become an Olympian, South Koreans flooded his Instagram page with support.
Among them was K-pop star Kwon Yuri, who posted: “I look forward to seeing you at the next Olympics. I’ve learned the true Olympic spirit (from you). Thank you, athlete Madaye, and I support you!”
Others wrote: “What shines brighter than 10 points is that unwavering spirit of yours.”
“From Korea with respect,” said another and “(We’d) like to see you in South Korea. You are always welcome.”
The Chadian archer posted two pictures of himself at the Olympic venue in Paris for his South Korean supporters, with one of the captions saying: “Thank you very much Republic of Korea.”
