"Seorin, Ye-jin, I'm Sorry": A Single Shot Cost Her the Gold... "Zero-Point Shock" Leaves Yang Ji-in in Tears [Nagoya Asian Games]

[Financial News] Even after receiving a silver medal, she could not bring herself to lift her head. Instead, thick tears streamed down her face as if she might collapse at any moment.
The momentum of the shooting queen, who had been perfect until the previous day, shattered because of a single delayed firing. The moment the painful score of zero appeared on the scoreboard, the world of the athlete in first place, who had been certain to win gold, collapsed. The shooting venue at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi and Nagoya became a sea of tears, filled with regret and deep affection for teammates.
Olympic champion Yang Ji-in (Woori Bank) scored 575 points, including 27 X-tens, on the 28th at the Aichi Prefectural General Shooting Range in Japan. She finished 17th in the women's 25m pistol individual qualification, which also counted toward the team event, and failed to reach the individual final contested by eight shooters.
It was a shocking result. In the precision stage held the previous day, Yang Ji-in had raced into first place with an overwhelming score of 292 points, making her the clear favorite to win.
But an unbelievable setback occurred during the rapid-fire stage that day. She missed the timing for her 21st shot and fired too late. Under the strict shooting rules, the shot was scored as zero.

In an international competition where even a single point matters, the shock of 10 points disappearing in an instant proved fatal. Her ranking plummeted, and the individual final ticket that had seemed secured vanished. Moreover, the team of Yang Ji-in, Seorin Bong, and Oh Ye-jin surrendered first place in the team event and had to settle for silver.
After the team event's silver-medal ceremony, Yang Ji-in entered the mixed zone with her eyes already red. Holding the interview microphone, she finally broke down in tears. Yang Ji-in said, "Even though I made a critical mistake, Seorin and Ye-jin guided us so well that we won the silver medal. I am extremely grateful to my teammates, and I am also sorry."
She continued, "I am so upset that I could not show everything we worked so hard to prepare. The three of us prepared really hard, and I cried because all the blood and sweat we poured into that preparation was squandered so painfully because of my mistake."

Moved by her teammate's painful self-reproach, Oh Ye-jin also burst into tears and was unable to speak for a while. After regaining her composure, Oh Ye-jin comforted Yang Ji-in, who was weeping uncontrollably, saying, "Still, we trusted one another, held on, and worked hard until the end, which allowed us to achieve the valuable result of a silver medal. We still have many opportunities ahead, so we will prepare even harder."
The cruelty of a single-shot mistake and the weight of the silver medal around her neck. Although they could not stand atop the podium, the tears shed by the shooting teammates as they embraced one another's pain left a poignant and lasting impression at the Nagoya shooting venue, deeper than any golden glow.
[email protected] Jeon Sang-il Reporter