'Tears That Would Not Stop': A Shooting Score of Zero, a Heartbreaking Mistake — Self-Blame and Comfort Shared by the National Team [Toyota On-Site]

*This content was translated by AI.

It was truly a heartbreaking mistake. The desire to perform even better ended up holding her back. What stung more than failing to advance to the individual final due to the error was that it effectively became a negative factor in the team event score, which is determined by combining records. This was why tears would not stop from the eyes of Yang Ji-in (Woori Bank), competing in the women's 25m pistol shooting event.

On the 28th, at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya (Japan) Asian Games held at the Toyota General Shooting Range in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, Yang Ji-in finished 17th with a score of 575 points in the women's 25m pistol individual preliminary and team event. It was a shocking result. She had stood atop this event at the 2024 Paris Olympics, and she was also considered the most likely candidate for gold at this tournament. A critical mistake played a large role. On her 21st shot that day, her trigger pull was delayed, resulting in a score of 'zero'. She ultimately failed to make up for this loss.

The momentum had been strong until the previous day. She ranked first overall with 292 points in the slow fire portion of the preliminary. The women's 25m pistol preliminary is conducted over two days, combining 30 shots of slow fire and 30 shots of rapid fire to determine preliminary rankings, after which the top eight athletes advance to the final to compete for medals. Therefore, the elimination from the preliminary of Yang Ji-in, an Olympic gold medalist who had ranked first in slow fire the day before, was all the more shocking.

The issue did not end with Yang Ji-in's elimination from the individual preliminary. In the team event, rankings are determined by combining the records of three athletes. South Korea recorded a combined score of 1,735 points from Yang Ji-in, Oh Ye-jin (IBK Industrial Bank of Korea), and Bong So-rin (Gwangju City Sports Council), finishing second with a silver medal, trailing China (1,743 points) by eight points. For Yang Ji-in, it was an unavoidable situation where she felt she had caused harm to her teammates who had prepared for the team event together. This was why she shed tears uncontrollably after completing the individual preliminary and the team event.

On the podium for the team silver medal, she managed to smile while performing a ceremony they had prepared together, but when facing reporters in the mixed zone and at the press conference, she could not hide her tears. She said, "I am very grateful to have won a silver medal despite my mistake," adding, "It was so frustrating that I could not show what we had prepared hard for, which is why I cried. We three worked hard to prepare, and it seems I cried because it was such a waste of our preparation." She burst into tears.

Oh Ye-jin, who answered questions next, also said, "We prepared hard with my senior teammates. Although the result is somewhat disappointing, I think we were able to achieve this outcome because we trusted each other and did our best until the end." After her remarks, she shed tears along with Yang Ji-in, causing the mixed zone to be briefly suspended.

The same was true at the subsequent press conference. When asked about the most memorable moment of this tournament, Yang Ji-in said, "The scene where I made a mistake is what remains in my memory," adding, "I timed out, so one shot did not go off. Because I pulled the trigger after three seconds, the score was not recognized." She shed tears again. Her emotions rose to the point where an official had to hand her a tissue. After struggling to compose herself, she vowed, "Because yesterday's match result was not bad, I think my desire to do very well was strong. Next time, so that no mistakes occur, I will strengthen my mental state so that I can show the public a good performance."

Yang Ji-in's tears also served as a 'tear button' for Bong So-rin, Oh Ye-jin, and other athletes. On this day, the women's 25m pistol shooting team members jointly produced a valuable silver medal, but Yang Ji-in's self-blame and the comfort from Bong So-rin and Oh Ye-jin led to regretful tears. This also meant that they had prepared for this tournament with strong teamwork, tightly united with one another.

Bong So-rin, who was the only one to advance to the final and led the team to a silver medal, said, "We really enjoyed preparing. I trusted my junior teammates next to me, and it seems they trusted me in return and performed well, so I am grateful and want to tell them they did a good job. I am very happy to have won a silver medal."

She continued, "The day before the match, I sent a message to my junior teammates saying, 'I think it is fortunate that we are doing this together.' I said, 'Because I trust Ji-in and Ye-jin, I hope you also trust your senior once and work hard.' Everyone was saying 'fighting' and 'let's go,' cheering each other on a lot, and I think they fell asleep like that." She shed tears.

Oh Ye-jin, who had been shedding tears since the mixed zone, said, "We may not have shown as much of a good performance as you expected, but we made considerable efforts. We came to have the mindset that a path forward has opened up." She did not forget her vow: "I am very grateful. I will become the Oh Ye-jin that you know."

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*This content was translated by AI.