'World No. 2 also eliminated': South Korea shooting team, including O Ye-jin and Ban Hyo-jin, confirmed for Asian Games

*This content was translated by AI.

The South Korean shooting national team set to compete at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya (Japan) Asian Games has been finalized. While 2024 Paris Olympics gold medalists O Ye-jin (IBK Industrial Bank of Korea) and Ban Hyo-jin (Daegu Public Facilities Management Corporation) have earned the national team jersey, world No. 2 Kwon Eun-ji (Ulsan City Hall) was eliminated.

The Korean Shooting Federation concluded the national team selection trials held from the 4th to the 26th at the Changwon International Shooting Range and announced on the 27th, through its Performance Improvement Committee, that 30 athletes (15 men and 15 women across 12 events) have been officially selected for the Asian Games.

In the men's 10m air rifle event, Paris Olympics silver medalist Park Ha-jun (KT) finished first with a total score of 2525.1 points, earning the national team jersey alongside Shin Min-ki (Changwon Special City Hall) and Kwon Hyeop-jun (Seo-si City Hall). Shin Min-ki set a new Korean record (254.3 points) in the first selection round, while Kwon Hyeop-jun also finished third in the 50m rifle three positions, qualifying as a double starter in both events.

In the women's 10m air rifle event, Kwon Yu-na (Woori Bank) finished first with a score of 2533.6 points. Paris Olympics gold medalist Ban Hyo-jin and Jo Eun-byul (Korea National Sport University) followed to secure their Asian Games berths. Kwon Eun-ji, despite finishing first in the finals of the first and fifth selection rounds, was eliminated due to poor performances in the third and fourth selection rounds.

In the men's 50m rifle three positions event, Jeong Seung-woo (KT) set an unofficial world record with 362.4 points to finish first and earn the national team jersey. Park Sung-hyun (Changwon Special City Hall) and Kwon Hyeop-jun followed. In the women's event, Oh Se-hee (Chungbuk National University of Science and Technology), Kim Bo-kyung (Changwon Special City Hall), and Kim Ji-eun (IBK Industrial Bank of Korea) secured their Asian Games berths in that order.

Additionally, in the men's 10m air pistol event, Hong Su-hyun (Gangwon Provincial Government), So Seung-seop (Seo-si City Hall), and Kim Tae-young (Daegu Public Facilities Management Corporation) earned the national team jersey. In the women's 10m air pistol event, Paris Olympics gold medalist O Ye-jin, along with Kim Bo-mi (Busan City Hall) and Ahee Eun (Imsil County Hall), earned the national team jersey. Notably, O Ye-jin finished first in all four final rounds and also topped the 25m pistol selection trials, securing her spot as a double starter for the Asian Games.

In the 25m rapid fire pistol event, Lee Geon-hyeok (Daegu Public Facilities Management Corporation) finished first with an unofficial world record of 596 points, joining Yoon Seo-young (Korea Army) and Song Jong-ho (IBK Industrial Bank of Korea) for the Asian Games. Lee Geon-hyeok's record surpassed the previous record set by Germany's Christian Litz in 2013 by 3 points after 13 years. Song Jong-ho also set an unofficial world record with 36 points in the final round. In the women's 25m pistol event, alongside O Ye-jin, Paris Olympics gold medalist Yang Ji-in (Woori Bank) and Bong Seo-rin (Gwangju Sports Council) secured their Asian Games berths.

In the shotgun events, Kim Deok-hoon (Ulsan Buk-gu District Office) in the men's trap and Lee Bo-na (Korean Air) in the women's trap earned the national team jersey. Lee Bo-na is a silver medalist from the 2004 Athens (Greece) Olympics. In the women's skeet event, Jang Guk-hee (KT) set an unofficial world record (34 points) to finish first, securing berths alongside Kim Chae-eun (Jeonbuk General) and Ahn Il-ji (Ulsan Buk-gu District Office) for the Asian Games. In the men's skeet event, Jang Ja-yong (Changwon Special City Hall), Kim Min-su (Korea Army), and Lee Jong-jun (Chungnam Sports Council) earned the national team jersey in that order.

Participants in mixed events will be decided later, and if any athletes are unavailable due to injury or other reasons, the next-ranked athletes will be selected. Kang Yeon-sool, president of the Korean Shooting Federation, stated, "The fact that five unofficial world records were set during this selection trial demonstrates that our athletes have reached the world's top level." He added, "The federation will spare no support to ensure the selected athletes elevate South Korea's standing and achieve excellent results at the Asian Games."

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*This content was translated by AI.