The South Korean shooting team arrived in Hangzhou for the Asian Games with little fanfare. With China ruling as the dominant power and India having emerged as a new force in Asia, South Korea wasn't expected to do much at the 19th Asiad.
The country was shut out of medals on the first day of competition Sunday but then rebounded to grab three silver medals Tuesday.
The first came in the men's 10-meter air rifle team event, where the combined scores of three shooters in the individual qualification determined the rankings. Park Ha-jun, Kim Sang-do and Nam Tae-yun combined for 1,890.1 points, finishing 3.6 points back of India for the silver.
Park later added silver in the individual 10m air rifle. South Korea also grabbed silver in the men's 25m rapid fire pistol team competition.
The trio of rifle shooters said afterward they were honored to have won South Korea's first shooting medal in Hangzhou.
"We were surprised to learn that ours was the first medal for the country," Nam said. "Before the competition, we talked about how we wanted to just do the best we could and see what happened. We're so happy with this result."
Kim, the senior member of the trio at 36, said he was pleased with setting the new national record score in the team event, and a gold medal would have been the icing on the cake.
Kim also said he and his teammates tried to shrug off the low expectations surrounding the national shooting program.
"We decided we shouldn't worry about outside noise and should stay focused on our goals," Kim said. "We had each other's backs."
Nam, 25, agreed.
"We wanted to stick to what we were doing and not worry about what everyone else was thinking," Nam said. "We weren't bothered by any of the outside stuff."
Though the three won the team silver medal together, shooting is decidedly individual by nature. When athletes shoot a low score, no teammate can pick up the slack for them. They can only shoot at their own targets and hope that their teammates will hold up their end of the bargain.
But Kim insisted teamwork still plays an important role in shooting.
"That's why I've taken these guys out for meals so often," Kim said with a smile.
Park verified Kim's claims, saying: "He's bought us so many dinners and snacks. I've put on some weight because of him."
Nam said the trio may just be the best South Korean rifle team ever assembled.
"Sang-do has been pumping our tires, saying we are the best rifle shooters in the country," Nam said. "I think that gave us the confidence to win a medal like this today."
Source: Yonhap News Agency