Paris Olympics 10-meter air pistol gold medalist Oh Ye-jinKWEN HYEK-JAE
Oh Ye-jin conquered the women's 10-meter air pistol at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Now she's taking on two pistol events at the upcoming Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026 — with gold in her crosshairs for both.
Oh secured her spot on the national team by finishing first in both the 10-meter air pistol and 25-meter pistol at the national team trials in May. The 10-meter air pistol is familiar territory — it is the event in which she won Olympic gold in Paris two years ago.
But the 25-meter pistol, which uses live ammunition, is a newer challenge. Oh only began seriously training in the event less than two years ago because there was nowhere on her native Jeju Island where she could practice with live rounds.
To the untrained eye, the two pistols may look much the same. But for shooters, they are worlds apart, with different shooting distances and vastly different levels of recoil.
“The air pistol has more of a light ‘pop, pop’ feel, while the 25-meter pistol is more of a ‘bang, bang,’” Oh said. “I'm working on getting comfortable enough with both that the transition between them feels natural.”
The events demand different rhythms. Air pistol is all about taking time. In the final, where every decimal point counts, shooters have 50 seconds to take each shot.
The 25-meter pistol is a different beast. It combines precision with quick aiming, with the final decided entirely through rapid fire. The target appears for just three seconds, disappears for seven and then pops up again as shooters work through a five-shot series. Miss the timing and a shooter may not get a shot off at all.
Oh Ye-jin practices at the Jincheon National Training Center in Jincheon, North Chungcheon, on Aug. 10.YONHAP
The difference in competition formats is one reason so few shooters master both disciplines.
Jin Jong-oh remains the only Korean to have won Olympic medals using both kinds of pistols. He won the 10-meter air pistol silver and 50-meter pistol gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, then took gold in both events at the 2012 London Olympics.
While mastering both can be difficult, Oh has no interest in choosing one over the other.
"Doing both is tough, and it means twice the pressure. But I'm competitive, so I don't want to let either one go," Oh said.
At the upcoming Asian Games, Oh could have a shot at as many as five medals — in the individual and team events in both the 10-meter air pistol and 25-meter pistol, as well as the 10-meter air pistol mixed team event.
Oh Ye-jin poses for a photo with a pistolINDUSTRIAL BANK OF KOREA
There has been another change since her Paris Olympic triumph. Oh, who wore glasses until two years ago, has undergone Lasik surgery and now has a visual acuity of 1.2 in both eyes — better than 20/20 vision.
“I didn't get the surgery because of shooting," Oh said. "I just wanted to make everyday life easier and I still wear shooting glasses when I compete. I was worried because I get halos around lights at night, but fortunately it doesn't affect me when I'm shooting.”
As she prepares for the Asian Games, some of Oh's toughest competitors could be the shooters she knows best — her Korean teammates.
She will have to contend with Kim Ye-ji, who took silver behind her in the 10-meter air pistol in Paris. Yang Ji-in, the Paris Olympic champion in the 25-meter pistol, is another friendly rival to watch.
“When Korean athletes are competing against each other, it's good for us no matter who wins, so I don't really think about it,” Oh said. “I just need to focus on my own performance.”
Oh Ye-jin speaks at the Asian Games media day event at the Jincheon National Training Center in Jincheon, North Chungcheong, on Aug. 10.YONHAP
Oh was far from a household name before the Paris Olympics, but one gold medal changed that. Back home on Jeju, she is now famous enough that even elderly women in the neighborhood recognize her.
With the newfound fame has come the weight of the crown.
“At the Olympics, I didn't really have anything on my mind,” Oh said. “I try to stay confident, but now there's also some anxiety because I have to live up to other people's expectations.”
Still, Oh is trying to approach the Asian Games with the same mindset that took her to the top of the podium in Paris.
“The Olympics just happened to be the first competition where I had a really good result,” Oh said. “If I don't lose sight of where I started and just give it my best, I think I can have another gold medal around my neck this time.”
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.
