Kim Ji-eun Reaches Asian Games Rifle Final With Five Perfect Closing Shots

South Korean shooter Kim Ji-eun advanced to the women’s 50-meter rifle three positions final at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Saturday after delivering five consecutive 10-point shots under pressure at the end of qualification.

Kim scored 588 points with 28 inner tens at the Aichi Prefectural General Shooting Range in Japan. The result placed her seventh among 45 competitors and earned her one of eight places in the individual final, where she was due to compete for a medal later in the day.

Her qualification total was built across the event’s three shooting positions. Kim recorded 196 points in kneeling, 198 in prone and 194 in standing. The decisive sequence came in the final standing series, when she needed 10 points from each of her last five shots to remain in a strong position to advance. She completed all five without dropping a point.

A single nine in that closing sequence would have left Kim on 587 points and forced her into a tiebreak involving four other shooters on the same total. With 28 inner tens, she would have trailed two of those rivals and matched another, creating a risk that she could fall as low as 10th and miss the final. Instead, the perfect finish secured seventh place outright.

Kim, who competes domestically for IBK Industrial Bank of Korea, was the only South Korean entrant to reach the individual final. Kim Bo-kyung of Changwon City Hall finished 25th with 581 points and 30 inner tens. Oh Se-hee, ranked 13th in the world and representing Chungbuk Health and Science University, placed 29th with 580 points and 25 inner tens.

South Korea also finished outside the medals in the team competition, which combined the qualification scores of its three shooters. The Korean trio totaled 1,749 points to rank sixth among 11 teams.

China won the team gold medal with 1,773 points. India took silver on 1,763, while Kazakhstan earned bronze with 1,754. South Korea finished five points behind Kazakhstan in the team standings, leaving Kim’s individual final as the country’s remaining medal opportunity in the event.