[Nagoya AG] Lee Geonhyuk Remains Unshaken... Double Champion in Rapid Fire Pistol Individual and Team Events

Victory after a fierce battle that went to a second shoot-off
First Korean champion to sweep both events in 12 years since Kim Joonhong in 2014
Wife Kim Yejin's silver medal in shooting at the Paris Olympics draws attention

Lee Geonhyuk, a member of the South Korean national shooting team who represents Daegu Facilities Management Corporation, added another gold medal at the Asian Games.

On October 1st, at the Aichi Prefecture Shooting Range in Toyota, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, Lee Geonhyuk scored 32 points in the men's 25m rapid fire pistol individual final at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. He tied for first place with China's Su Lianbofan, then won the second shoot-off by a score of 5-2. This victory came on top of his gold medal in the team event earlier in the day, making him a double gold medalist. He is the first Korean shooter in 12 years to sweep both the individual and team events, following the footsteps of Kim Joonhong at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games.

Lee Geonhyuk showed exceptional talent in BB gun shooting ranges as a child. At his mother’s recommendation, he began shooting with the 10m air pistol in the second year of middle school, entering the sport. After entering high school, he switched to the 25m rapid fire pistol. He once faced a crisis that threatened to end his career. During physical training in his first year of high school, he suffered a serious injury, breaking his collarbone. He underwent surgery to insert a metal plate and required close to two months of hospitalization and rehabilitation.

Lee Gunhyuk is smiling brightly on the podium after winning the gold medal in the men's 25m rapid fire pistol individual event at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games held on the 1st at the Aichi Prefecture Comprehensive Shooting Range in Japan. Toyota=Yonhap News Photo

After securing a place in the senior ranks, Lee Geonhyuk established himself as the face of Korean rapid fire pistol shooting. He claimed the gold medal in the men's standard pistol individual event at the 2022 World Championships in Cairo, won the individual event at the 2023 Asian Championships in Changwon, and earned team gold at the 2025 World Championships in Cairo. He is also well known as ‘the husband of Kim Yejin.’ His wife gained global fame by winning a silver medal in shooting at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The rapid fire pistol final held that day did not use a points system but was marked by hits (1 point) and misses (0 points). Shooters had to achieve a score of 9.7 or higher on the target to be credited with a ‘hit.’ The eight finalists each shot five rounds within four seconds over two ‘series,’ and from the third series onward, shooters began to be eliminated. In the third series, the 7th and 8th place shooters were eliminated, and starting from the fourth series, the lowest-ranked shooter was eliminated after each round.

In the fifth series, Lee Geonhyuk achieved a 'perfect series' by hitting all five targets and began a full-fledged battle for the lead against Su Lianbofan, who had advanced to the finals in first place. At the end of the fifth series, Lee had 21 points while Su had 20 points. In the sixth series, Lee hit four targets and Su hit three, widening the gap to 25-23 in favor of Lee.

Kang Hyuk Lee is cheering after securing the gold medal in the men's 25m rapid fire pistol individual event at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games shooting competition held on the 1st at the Aichi Prefectural Shooting Range in Japan. Toyota = Yonhap News Agency

By the end of the sixth series, Lee Geonhyuk had secured the bronze medal, and in the seventh series, he hit three shots (cumulative score of 28), allowing Su Lianbofan, who hit four (cumulative score of 27), to close the gap. In the final, eighth series, Su Lianbofan, shooting first, hit all five targets, and Lee missed one shot, resulting in both athletes tying at 32-32 and forcing a five-shot shoot-off.

In the first shoot-off, both athletes hit four out of five targets. In the second shoot-off, Su Lianbofan managed to hit only two shots, while Lee Geonhyuk hit all five, putting an end to the intense contest. The bronze medal was claimed by Ghulam Mustafa Bashir of Pakistan, who recorded a total of 22 points.

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