South Korea Takes Mixed Air Rifle Silver at Asian Games
Ban Hyo-jin and Park Ha-jun won silver in the 10-meter air rifle mixed team event, holding off Japan before finishing behind a world-record performance by China.
South Korea won the silver medal in the 10-meter air rifle mixed team event at the Asian Games on Tuesday, with Ban Hyo-jin and Park Ha-jun overcoming a tight contest with Japan to finish second behind China.
Ban and Park posted 502.9 points in the final at the Aichi Prefectural General Shooting Gallery in Toyota, about 25 kilometers east of Nagoya, the Games’ main host city. China’s Wang Zifei and Sheng Lihao secured gold with a world-record total of 507.1 points. Japan claimed bronze with 439.7, while India finished fourth with 376.3.
The result gave South Korea its first shooting silver of the competition after the delegation had collected two bronze medals in the sport. Both members of the mixed team had already reached the podium: Ban earned bronze in the women’s 10-meter air rifle individual event, and Park took bronze in the men’s 10-meter air rifle team event.
The final began with each shooter taking 15 shots, producing 30 shots per team in the opening stage. After that sequence, South Korea stood third on 314.3 points. China led with 315.7, Japan held second at 314.9 and India trailed at 312.3.
The format then eliminated teams in stages as each shooter added three shots per series. India was the first team out. South Korea and Japan remained separated by narrow margins as they fought for a place in the gold-medal round, while China gradually built a clear lead.
With one shot remaining for each shooter in the second elimination series, South Korea was 0.8 point behind Japan. Park responded with a maximum 10.9 after an earlier 9.9, helping the Korean pair edge Japan 440.1 to 439.7 and secure at least silver. China entered the final series comfortably ahead on 443.6.
China widened the gap with strong opening shots in the last series, effectively settling the gold-medal contest. South Korea nevertheless completed a comeback that Park and Ban described as especially satisfying. Park said he had focused only on producing his best final shot when bronze had appeared likely.
The medal was Park’s second consecutive Asian Games podium finish in the mixed team event after bronze three years earlier. Ban, the 2024 Olympic champion and 2025 world champion in the individual 10-meter air rifle, is competing at her first Asian Games. The pair have worked together in mixed-team competition for nearly three years and said they hope to challenge China again at the world championships in November.