TOKYO– South Korean shooter Kim Min-jung won the silver medal in the women’s 25-meter pistol event at the Tokyo Olympics on Friday, bringing home the first medal from the sport in Japan.
Kim finished second to Vitalina Batsarashkina of the Russian Olympic Committee in the final, losing in a nail-biting shoot-off battle at Asaka Shooting Range.
Kim barely made it out of the qualification round. She ranked eighth to take the last ticket to the final with 584 points. Kim and Zorana Arunovic of Serbia were tied in total points, but Kim had the edge because she put 19 shots in the center of the target, one more than Arunovic.
In the 25m pistol final, shooters earn points based on hits. A shot worth 10.2 points or higher counts as a hit, with a maximum of 50 hits in a competition.
There are 10 rapid fire series, with each series made up of five shots. The elimination of the lowest-scoring shooter starts after the fourth series, or after 20 shots.
Kim had four hits in her first series and was 5-for-5 in her second series. She only managed two hits each in the fourth and fifth series but stayed in first place.
Kim had four hits in the sixth series for 22 hits overall, and Batsarashkina pulled even with Kim at that point.
The two stayed deadlocked at the top at 30 points through eight series.
When only three shooters were left, with Xiao Jiaruixuan of China in third, Kim moved back into the lead by getting four hits in the ninth series to reach 34 hits overall. Batsarashkina was now at 33 hits, while Xiao was eliminated and grabbed bronze.
In the final series, Batsarashkina picked up five hits, while Kim settled for four hits.
They tied at 38 points after 10 shots, setting a new Olympic record, to force a shoot-off.
The shoot-off ensued, with the final five rapid-fire shots determining the gold medalist. Kim managed only one hit, and Batsarashkina got four hits for the gold.
Kim’s silver is South Korea’s first Olympic medal from any women’s pistol events since 2012 when Kim Jang-mi reached the top of the Olympic podium after winning women’s 25m pistol.
The 24-year old shooter, who failed to reach the finals at her first Olympics in 2016, said she grew a lot during the preparation for her second Olympics.
“Four years ago, I didn’t know why I had to go through such hard training,” she said. “But for this Olympics, I’ve set my goals and future. I think I’ve well reached that point.”
Kim’s evolved mentality helped her to remain steady in the tense shoot-off with Batsarashkina, although she could not overcome the Russian, who won the 10m pistol gold on Sunday.
“I wasn’t that nervous in the shoot-off,” she said. “It’s a little bit disappointing, but I think I have another chance in the future as I’m still young.”
But she said she still felt a load off her mind as she finished the competition and will keep striving to develop her skills and experience until the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Source: Yonhap News Agency