South Korea’s Jin Jong-oh produced a stunning display to overturn a huge deficit on compatriot Choi Young-rae and retain the men’s 50m pistol title yesterday for his second gold of the Games.
Jin finished with a score of 662.0 to take the title ahead of Choi on 661.5, with Zhiwei Wang of China third on 658.6.
Jin had begun the final seven points behind Choi, but a magnificent display helped him close the gap and pile the pressure on his fellow countryman, who crumbled at the end.
Photo: EPA
Choi held a 3.3-point lead over Jin with four rounds left of the 10-shot final, but his failure to score above 9.4 with his remaining efforts evaporated that lead as Jin, who won the men’s 10m pistol on the opening day, upped his game.
Jin, trailing by 1.6 points before the final shot where shooters aim for a maximum score of 10.9, closed with a 10.2 as world No. 55 Choi produced a disappointing 8.1.
After wiping his brow, Jin pumped his fist to the crowd, before giving the smiling Choi a hug.
Having finished top of the 60-shot qualifying session where competitors aim for the 50mm highest scoring ring, Choi looked set to claim an unlikely gold.
His nearest rival Wang and Serbian Andrija Zlatic fell away as the South Korean held a lead of 6.6 points after four rounds, before his meltdown cost him victory.
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