Kisik Lee replaces Baek Woong Ki as India's new recurve archery head coach

The South Korean will be replacing his compatriot Baek Woong Ki, who stepped down from the role of India's recurve archery coach after being denied accreditation for the Paris Olympics 2024, as per Olympics.com.

The 67-year-old Kisik Lee is expected to assume his role as the new head coach of the Indian recurve archery team in August or September. He will work across senior and junior recurve setups, with an eye on ending India's search for an Olympic medal in archery at LA 2028.

Despite being a regular fixture in archery competitions at the Olympics, Indian archers are yet to get a feel of the podium at the Summer Games.

Kisik Lee is expected to operate between New Delhi and the regional training centre in Sonepat. The final contract, however, is yet to be signed.

"My job is to train the athletes and the coaches - and the archers show good results in the process," Kisik Lee, who was named Coach of the Year by the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee in 2019, told World Archery as quoted by Olympics.com.

"All his demands have been accepted. He will have full freedom to execute his plans," said Archery Association of India (AAI) treasurer Joris Paulose Ummacheril.

Kisik Lee boasts a rich coaching resume with experience of mentoring top archers for over three decades.

After starting his international coaching career with the South Korean team, he guided Australian archers to two Olympic medals - Simon Fairweather's gold at Sydney 2000 and Tim Cuddihy's bronze at Athens 2004.

The Korean also enjoyed substantial success as the head coach of the USA recurve archery team between 2006 and 2024.

During his tenure, the American archers won over 300 World Cup medals - almost half of them gold - three Olympic medals and multiple world titles across disciplines.

Lee notably shaped five-time Olympic medallist and 2019 recurve world champion Brady Ellison's rise into one of the sport's most accomplished archers.