'Hit after hit': Chu Ga-eun wins shooting's first gold, Kim Young-chan stages a 0.054-second comeback ... Nagoya set ablaze [Nagoya AG]

[Financial News] The fighting spirit of South Korea's national team has set Nagoya, Japan, ablaze across sporting boundaries. In the silence of the shooting range, a sharpshooter with a steely gaze emerged after hitting an Asian record. On a virtual circuit vibrating with engine notes, an elite racer delivered Korean esports its first medal of the Games with a thrilling 0.054-second comeback.
Chu Ga-eun of Imsil County Office won the women's 10m air pistol individual final at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, held on the 23rd at the Aichi Prefectural Shooting Range in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, with a dominant score of 246.3 points. It was a precious first gold medal for South Korean shooting, which had endured a gold-medal drought after repeatedly running into China's Great Wall over the previous three days.


It was truly a festival of records. Chu Ga-eun shot 582 points, including 19 X-tens, in the earlier qualifying round to set an Asian Games qualifying-round record and advance in first place overall. In the final, she established a new Asian record by surpassing the previous mark of 245.3 points, set by Japan's Yukari Konishi in 2017, by 1.0 point. The feat also matched the Korean national record set by Kim Min-jung at the 2019 National Sports Festival. It was the first time in 16 years that a South Korean athlete had won gold in this event, since Kim Yun-mi at the 2010 Guangzhou Games.


The final was a one-woman show in which Chu Ga-eun's ironclad mental strength shone through. Even the overt home-crowd pressure, including loud shouts and cheers from Chinese supporters at every trigger pull, failed to shake her. She surged into the lead from the first 10 shots and never allowed a comeback, defeating silver medalist Seon Yi-yao of China, who scored 241.3 points, by a commanding 5.0 points. It was a moment when she transformed a painful ordeal into a perfect resurgence: she first earned a place on the national team in 2017 and competed through the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, but was unable to take part in the Hangzhou Games. After joining Oh Ye-jin of Industrial Bank of Korea and Kim Bo-mi of Busan City Hall to win silver in the team event, Chu Ga-eun will target a second gold medal in the mixed team event on the 25th.


That same day, the heat of blazing asphalt filled the virtual arena at Aichi Sky Expo. Kim Young-chan of DCT RACING won a bronze medal for South Korea's esports team after a nail-biting race in the Gran Turismo 7 event.
The event is so realistic that real Formula One (F1) drivers are known to enjoy it for practice and as a hobby. Kim Young-chan, who is also an active motorsports driver, delivered a race worthy of a film. In the three final races held on different tracks and with different car models, he made an uneasy start by crashing into a wall in the first race and finishing sixth.



But he produced a miracle in Race 2 on the Grand Valley Highway 1 track, set in California, United States. Starting sixth, he used his trademark composure to hold the inside line and climb to third. Then, amid a back-and-forth battle for the lead, he made perfect use of the slipstream, an aerodynamic advantage, just before the finish line on the final lap to dramatically overtake Malaysia's Taji Madira. The gap between the two drivers was just 0.054 seconds.
Race 3, the final contest with the medal at stake, unfolded as a highly strategic battle at Deep Forest Raceway, involving tire changes and refueling during pit stops. Kim Young-chan started on medium tires and made a bold move to switch to soft tires on Lap 9. Despite Japan's Ryota Kokubun closely marking him, he finally pulled ahead on Lap 15. Although he was overtaken late in the race by Saudi Arabia's Al-Fareh and took the checkered flag in third, Kim Young-chan secured a valuable bronze medal with 25 overall points, finishing ahead of Al-Fareh despite their tie.

[email protected] Jeon Sang-il Reporter