Park Jin-ho Claims South Korea’s First Medal at Asian Para Games With Silver in Men’s 10m Air Rifle

Disabled shooting star Park Jin-ho (49, Gangneung City Hall) and former shooting instructor Lee Jang-ho (37, Cheongju City Hall) have captured silver and bronze medals side by side, delivering South Korea's first medals of the Asian Para Games.

Park scored a total of 248.5 points across 24 shots in the final of the men's 10m air rifle standing (sports class SH1) at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Para Games held today at the Aichi Prefectural General Shooting Range in Japan, finishing second behind Yerkin Gabbassov of Kazakhstan, who scored 249.1 points.

In the same event, Lee took third place with a total of 226.9 points over 22 shots, claiming the bronze medal.

With this result, Park secured silver for the second consecutive time following the Hangzhou Games.

Lee, who defeated Park to win the title at the previous event, also clinched medals in two straight competitions.

Park, who advanced to the final after finishing third overall in the preliminaries with 625.5 points, started off on a high note by firing a maximum 10.9 points on his very first shot.

He subsequently engaged in a fierce battle for the lead with China's Dong Chao, Gabbassov, and Lee.

A fierce contest ensued, with Park, Dong, and Gabbassov tied for the lead at 165.2 points after 16 shots.

While Dong dropped to fifth place after scoring 8.8 points on his 18th shot, Lee secured a medal by reaching third place with a total of 206.6 points after 20 shots.

Trailing the leader Gabbassov by 0.6 points, Park aimed for a comeback with his final two shots but ultimately failed to narrow the gap, taking the silver medal with 248.5 points.

Park, who has maintained a busy schedule competing in domestic and international events including sweeping three titles at this year's world championships, revealed that his physical condition was not 100 percent.

After the match, he said, "Given that my condition was not perfect, I am not placing too much significance on this result, but rather viewing it as a process leading toward the Los Angeles Paralympics. In the remaining events, I will adjust my shooting timing, which was a bit fast, and do my best."

Lee said, "It is bittersweet. While it is regrettable that I could not win consecutive titles, I climbed back up to third place after dropping to seventh and did my best. I will approach the remaining matches as if they are my last and give it my all."

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.