South Korea set a 24-arrow world record as the women's team of Park Sung-Hyun, Yun Ok-Hee and Joo Hyun-Jung combined for a score of 231 out of a possible 240 points at the Olympic Green Archery Field on Sunday.

The South Korean score of 231 was also the Olympic record as the 24-arrow format featured for the first time in the Olympic Games.

Overall, there were no major upsets in the women's team elimination rounds with China, Britain, France and South Korea advancing to the semifinals.

"We shot the same as we did in the final of the World Cup fourth leg. But the South Koreans have improve their results so much. I think they come from another planet," said Pia Carmen Lionetti from Italy.

"We were unlucky. I felt so much pressure during the ranking round. For my teammate Elena Tonetta there was not so much as mine."

"They have three great archers. I'm happy for them for the world record. I'm not happy that it wasn't enough for us," said another Italian archer Natalia Valeeva.

"We should have shot better yesterday so we could shoot with the Koreans in the semifinals. We needed to be in the finals. We should have been more ready," she added.

In the last-eight elimination round matches, Colombia was defeated by Japan 206-199. Chinese Taipei, the winner of the bronze medal in the Athens Games, will not be able to return to the podium in Beijing as they lost to Italy 215-211.

(Xinhua News Agency August 10, 2008)