(Asiad) Olympic pistol champion targets 1st Asian Games gold

NAGOYA, Japan, Sept. 28 (Yonhap) -- The reigning Olympic pistol shooting champion, Yang Ji-in, will go for her first Asian Games gold medal in Japan on Monday.

Yang will compete in the women's 25-meter pistol event of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games at the Aichi Prefectural General Shooting Gallery in Toyota, east of the main host city of Nagoya. In addition to the individual medal, Yang will try to lead South Korea to the team podium as well.

Yang won bronze in both the individual and team events at the previous Asian Games in 2023 and then claimed the individual gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

South Korean pistol shooters Oh Ye-jin (L) and Yang Ji-in take part in an opening training session at the Jincheon National Training Center in Jincheon, North Chungcheong Province, in this Aug. 10, 2026, file photo. (Yonhap)

Yang will compete alongside Oh Ye-jin, who won the 2024 Olympic gold in the 10m air pistol event and is also taking part in the 25m event in Japan.

In the 10m air pistol at this Asiad, Oh finished well out of medal contention in the individual event but took bronze in the team competition.

Elsewhere on Monday, weightlifter Won Jong-beom will also chase his first Asian Games gold after finishing in sixth place three years ago.

Won, 30, will compete in the men's 95-kilogram event. He is the 2023 world championship silver medalist in the men's 96kg with a total weight of 384kg. He earned gold in clean and jerk at the 2024 worlds with 214kg.

The men's handball team will face the three-time defending champion Qatar in the semifinals at 5:30 p.m. Monday.