On Her Birthday, Hyunjin Ban Falls Short of Grand Slam... Wins Asian Games Bronze

Third Place in Women's 10m Air Rifle at Aichi-Nagoya Games

Daichi Takes Gold, Valarivan Silver, Kwon Yuna Finishes Eighth

North Korea Disqualified Due to Ammunition Approval Issue

Hyunjin Ban, the leading figure in Korean women's shooting (Daegu Facility Management Corporation), had to settle for a bronze medal.

On the 20th, at the Aichi Prefectural General Shooting Range in Japan, Hyunjin Ban finished third with a score of 230.4 points in the women's 10m air rifle individual final at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. Ban, who had previously won the women's 10m air rifle individual events at the 2024 Paris Olympics and the 2025 International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Championships, narrowly missed achieving a Grand Slam this time.

Hyojin Ban is aiming during the women's 10m air rifle individual final at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games held on the 20th at the Aichi Prefecture General Shooting Range in Japan. Toyota=Yonhap News Agency

Ban advanced through the preliminary round as second overall after scoring 634.9 points, just behind China's Wang Zifei, who scored 636.8 points. In the final, she secured the bronze medal with 230.4 points. Japan's Hinata Daichi won the gold medal with a score of 253.0, while India's Elavenil Valarivan took the silver medal with 252.4 points.

If Ban had won the gold medal at this Asian Games, she would have become the second Korean shooter in history after Lee Eunchul to complete a Grand Slam by winning gold in the Olympic Games, World Championships, and Asian Games individual events. Instead, she will now have to look ahead to the next opportunity. Kwon Yuna (Woori Bank), who also competed in the final alongside Ban, finished in eighth place with a score of 124 points.

Meanwhile, North Korea was unable to participate in the event due to the issue of requiring prior approval from the Japanese government for ammunition use.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.