The South Korean shooting team will look to redeem itself at the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games. The team is aiming for three gold medals.
“The goal is three gold medals,” said Hong Seung-pyo, head coach of the national shooting team, at the team’s media day held online on Friday. We won three gold medals at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games,” he said, adding, “This time, we have set a gold medal target mainly for individual events.”
His gold medal favorites are Jung Jeong-jin (Cheongju City Hall) in the 10-meter running target, Lee Eun-seo (Seosan City Hall) in the 50-meter rifle three positions, and Song Jong-ho (IBK) in the 25-meter rapid-fire pistol and 25-meter rapid-fire pistol team events.
Korean shooting will be represented at the Games by 35 athletes in 30 events. The shooting events will be held from Sept. 24 to Oct. 1 at the Silver Lake Sports Center in Fuyang, China.
The sport was once considered Korea’s patron saint, winning many medals at the Asian Games and Olympics, but the country’s shooting prowess has faltered in recent years due to the dominance of China, the reigning world champion, and emerging powerhouse India.
“Even at the recent World Championships, we were outperformed by China and India,” says Hong soberly, “and India has been benchmarking Korea’s system for five years. “India has been benchmarking Korea’s system for five years, and there are some sports where they have overtaken China with active state support.
Veteran Jung Jeong-jin, a gold medal favorite, will be looking for her fifth consecutive podium finish at the Asian Games. She has won one gold, one silver and two bronze medals at the last four Asian Games.
“Our goal is to win the all-around title, and if we’re ambitious, we’re aiming for back-to-back titles. “You have to shoot with a lot of pressure,” she said, “and we’ve been training hard at the Jincheon Athletes’ Village. If I don’t get greedy and go into the competition, good results will come.”
Kim Bomi (IBK), who will compete in the 10-meter air pistol, said, “My goal is to reach the medal round at the Asian Games. I want to show a better performance than the last Tokyo Games, and I think I can achieve a good result and win a medal.”
Kim Bomi drew attention when he said he would train while listening to Chinese music as a way to overcome the one-sided cheering from the Chinese crowd. “I’ve experienced (away games) before at the World Cup in Beijing. There wasn’t as much noise as I thought, but I’m still a little worried because it’s the Asian Games. I’m going to practice at the Jincheon Shooting Range with Chinese music playing,” he said.
Song, who won gold in the 25-meter rapid-fire pistol team event at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, has been struggling in recent international competitions. He failed to make the final at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta-Palembang and was disqualified from the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
Hangzhou is her chance to get back to winning ways. To do so, they will have to cross the Great Wall.
“This is my third Asian Games,” said Song Jong-ho. I gained a lot of experience in the last two Asian Games and won gold in the team event at the first Asian Games. This time, I am preparing hard based on my own know-how,” said Song. “I think we have an advantage over China. Our goal is to win both the team and individual events,” he said.
“Mental is the most important thing. I think we have top-notch skills at the national level. I think the outcome of a match is determined by the mentality. The most important thing is to start from the beginning and dedicate yourself to the match until the end.”메이저놀이터
Eun-seo Lee, who is aiming for podium finishes in the 50-meter rifle three positions and 10-meter air rifle, said, “My goal is definitely gold. “I want to go to the competition and calmly perform what I have been practicing,” she said, “I feel good these days. I’m training with a good feeling,” she said confidently.