China lost to South Korea 221-218 in the semifinals of the women's team recurve event at the archery World Cup on Saturday.

The Chinese team, consisting of Zhao Ling, Ouyang Ruyu and Zhu Jiani, cruised into the semifinals after beating Germany 216-209.

"They are much stronger than us," said Zhao, who will compete for the bronze medal in the individual recurve on Sunday.

"Competing with S. Koreans will help us improve our skills, and it will be a precious preparations for the world championships," she added.

According to Tian Yuling, coach of the Chinese team, the girls' performance was good.

"I am satisfied with their performance," said Tian. "The mark, 218 points, was good. The three girls are still quite young and lack of experience, and their South Korean opponents are quite strong."

China will vie for the bronze medal against Italy on Sunday. Italy went down 216-210 to Russia in the other semifinal.

Earlier on Saturday, the Chinese men's recurve team was eliminated by Spain in the quarterfinals, losing 206-205.

(Xinhua News Agency August 8, 2009)