'Shooting Emperor' Jin Jong-oh Fails to Advance to 10m Mixed Team Final... First Olympic 'Empty-Handed' (Comprehensive)

Jin Jong-oh. [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunju Park] The "Shooting Emperor" Jin Jong-oh (42) has concluded his beautiful challenge.

Jin Jong-oh, paired with Choo Ga-eun (20), failed to advance to the finals in the 10m air pistol mixed team event held on the 27th at the Tokyo Asaka Shooting Range. On that day, Jin Jong-oh and Choo Ga-eun scored a total of 575 points out of 600 in the preliminary round, where each shot 10 shots per series, ranking 9th. Kim Mose (23) and Kim Bomi, who also participated, finished the competition in 11th place. Only the top 8 teams were given tickets to the finals.

Jin Jong-oh also failed to reach the finals in the men's 10m air pistol event on the 24th. After the competition, he said, "What can I do about the results coming out like this?" but expressed his determination to win by saying, "The mixed event remains, so I will organize myself well."

Jin Jong-oh has won a total of 4 gold and 2 silver medals in four Olympics from the 2004 Athens Olympics to the 2016 Rio Olympics. If he had won a medal this time, he would have surpassed female archer Kim Soo-nyung (1 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze), who currently holds the same rank, to set a new record as the Korean athlete with the most Olympic medals in history. Depending on the color of the medal, he could also have set a new record for the most gold medals by a Korean athlete. However, by failing to advance to the finals this time, Jin Jong-oh will maintain the record of 4 gold medals, the same as Kim Soo-nyung and Jeon Yi-kyung (speed skating).