Ban Hyo-jin wins Asian Games bronze, falls short of career grand slam
Olympic and world champion Ban Hyo-jin won 10-meter air rifle bronze at the Asian Games on her 19th birthday, delaying her bid for a career grand slam.
Korea’s Ban Hyo-jin celebrates with her bronze medal during the women’s 10-meter air rifle individual medal ceremony at the Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026 at the Aichi Prefectural General Shooting Gallery in Japan on Sept. 20.NEWS1
NAGOYA, Japan — Paris Olympic gold medalist Ban Hyo-jin will have to wait for another chance to complete a career grand slam after finishing No. 3 in the women’s 10-meter air rifle individual event.
Ban won bronze with 230.4 points in the women’s 10-meter air rifle final at the Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026 at the Aichi Prefectural General Shooting Gallery in Japan on Sunday. Despite struggling with a recent back injury, Ban raised her performance to reach the podium.
Lee Eun-chul remains the only Korean shooter to achieve a grand slam, winning gold medals at the Olympics, World Championships and Asian Games. Even Jin Jong-oh, a four-time Olympic gold medalist, never won an individual Asian Games gold.
Ban entered the Asian Games seeking to complete the grand slam after winning gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics and the 2025 World Championships, but fell short with bronze.
Earlier Sunday, Ban scored 634.9 points in qualification to finish No. 2 overall behind China’s Wang Zifei, who scored 636.8.
In the team event, Ban combined with Kwon Yu-na, who finished No. 8 with 633.3 points, and Cho Eun-byeol, who placed No. 19 with 627.6 points. Korea finished No. 4 with a combined 1,895.8 points, behind China with 1,904.2, India with 1,898.0 and Japan with 1,897.1.
Ban, however, earned an individual medal on her 19th birthday.
Korea’s Ban Hyo-jin prepares to shoot during the women’s 10-meter air rifle individual final at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games at the Aichi Prefectural General Shooting Gallery in Japan on Sept. 20.NEWS1
She scored 52.2 points in the first five-shot series of the opening stage to sit No. 5.
Ban then surged up the standings with scores of 10.9, 10.2 and 10.7 to move into third with 104.9 points after the second series.
In the first two-shot series of the second stage, Ban narrowed the gap with leader Elavenil Valarivan of India to 0.6 points.
Kwon, meanwhile, was eliminated after reaching 124.0 points. She was tied with China’s Han Jiayu but lost in a shoot-off.
Ban continued to chase Valarivan alongside Japan’s Hinata Taichi but struggled to close the gap. She held off competitors including world No. 1 Wang and secured the bronze medal with 210.0 points after the fifth series of the second stage, 0.8 points behind No. 2 Hinata.
Korea’s Ban Hyo-jin, right, poses with her bronze medal after the women’s 10-meter air rifle individual final at the Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026 at the Aichi Prefectural General Shooting Gallery in Japan, on Sept. 20. Japan’s Hinata Taichi, center, won gold, while India’s Elavenil Valarivan, left, took silver.YONHAP
Ban scored 10.8 on the first shot of the sixth series to pull within 0.6 points of Taichi. But Taichi responded with a 10.8 while Ban scored 9.6, eliminating Ban from the final.
Taichi finished with 253.0 points, overtaking Valarivan, who scored 252.4, and maintained the lead through the final series to win gold.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
![메달 들어보이는 반효진 (도요타[일본]=연합뉴스) 임화영 기자 = 20일 일본 아이치현 종합 사격장에서 열린 2026 아이치·나고야 아시안게임 사격 여자 10m 공기소총 개인전 결선에서 동메달을 획득한 한국 반효진이 기념촬영을 하고 있다. 왼쪽부터 은메달 획득한 인도 엘라베닐 발라리반, 금메달 획득한 일본 다이치 히나타, 반효진. 2026.9.20 hwayoung7@yna.co.kr/2026-09-20 15:47:04/](https://image.koreajoongangdaily.com/12883981.webp?imageId=12883981&x=0.00&y=0.64&cropw=100.00&croph=81.77&width=960&height=548&format=jpg)
