Choo Eun of Imshil County Office Shooting Team Wins Gold and Silver in First Asian Games Appearance

Women's 10m Air Pistol,
Back-to-Back Records in Qualification and Final

Choo Eun (25), a member of the Imshil County Office shooting team in Jeonbuk, won both a gold and a silver medal in her first-ever Asian Games appearance.

On the 23rd, at the Comprehensive Shooting Range in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, Choo claimed the gold medal in the women's 10m air pistol individual final at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, scoring 246.3 points. This surpassed the previous Asian record of 245.3 points by 1 point, and also set a new Asian Games record, beating the former record of 242.1 points.

Jae-Eun Chu of the Imsil County Shooting Team in Jeonbuk scored 246.3 points in the women's 10m air pistol individual final at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games held on the 23rd at the comprehensive shooting range in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, winning the gold medal. Courtesy of Imsil County Office

Choo’s gold medal campaign began as early as the qualification round preceding the finals.

In the qualification round held in the morning, she shot 582 points, breaking the previous Asian Games qualification record of 581 points by 1 point. Entering the final as the top qualifier among all participating athletes, Choo maintained her composure throughout the afternoon final, holding the lead from the first 10 shots and ultimately emerging as the champion.

Choo set several milestones: ▲ She broke the Asian Games record with 582 points in the qualification round ▲ She simultaneously set new Asian and Asian Games records with 246.3 points in the final ▲ She secured South Korea’s first gold in the women's 10m air pistol individual event in 16 years. The last time a South Korean athlete won this event at the Asian Games was Kim Yunmi at the 2010 Guangzhou Games.

Earlier, Choo had already secured a silver medal in the women's 10m air pistol team event held prior to the individual competition.

The South Korean national team, joined by Kim Bomi (Busan Metropolitan City Hall) and Oh Yejin, scored a total of 1,730 points in the qualification round, finishing second behind China. With the individual gold following her team silver, Choo collected two medals in a single day.

This achievement is particularly noteworthy because it demonstrates the continued rise of Choo Eun, who joined the Imshil County Office shooting team this year, now extending her success to the international stage.

Starting with a gold medal in the individual event at the 9th Daegu Mayor's Cup National Shooting Championship in March, Choo went on to win a bronze at the 1st NH Nonghyup Bank Cup National Shooting Championship, a silver at the 6th General Hong Beomdo Cup National Shooting Championship, and another gold at the 8th Changwon Mayor's Cup National Shooting Championship.

At the ISSF Munich World Cup in May, she ranked first overall in the women's 10m air pistol qualification round with 583 points, advanced to the final, and won the bronze medal with a third-place finish. Most recently, at the 19th Presidential Security Service Chief's Cup National Shooting Championship, she matched the domestic record with 246.3 points, securing the top spot in the individual event.

Choo was also a member of the South Korean national team at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. At this Asian Games, she demonstrated her international competitiveness by breaking both the Asian Games qualification record and the Asian final record in her very first appearance.

Han Deuksoo, Governor of Imshil County, congratulated Choo on her gold and silver medal achievements, saying, "This is an accomplishment that has elevated the stature of both the Republic of Korea and Imshil County." He also stated that Imshil County Office will continue to support the shooting team’s participation in domestic and international competitions.

Meanwhile, Choo Eun is also scheduled to compete at the ISSF World Championship to be held in Doha, Qatar, from November 1 to 15 following the Asian Games.

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