Paris, France, August 3, 2024: Korea’s Hangzhou Asian Games champion Yang Ji-in held her nerve in a shoot-off to win Olympic gold in the women’s 25m pistol final at Chateauroux Shooting Centre on Saturday morning.
Yang, 21, defeated Camille Jedrzejewski of France 4-1 in the shoot-off after they were tied 37-37.
Hungary’s Veronika Major won the bronze medal with 31 points, beating India’s Manu Bhaker 4-3 in a shoot-off. Bhaker had already won two bronze medals earlier in the week.
Yang commented: “It is my first Olympics and I am very honoured to win gold. I am very proud that our nation’s flag will be the highest.
“This gold medal has proved I am the world’s best right now. I will have to train harder to try to put the flag highest once again in LA,” she added, referring to the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
Commenting on the shoot-off, Yang admitted: “I was very nervous and was thinking, ‘What should I do in this situation?’ But I thought I have trained so much and it would be too sad to miss this opportunity after all that training. I kept reminding myself I have to be calm to win this competition.”
Yang said she would cherish her Olympic gold medal and hoped to grow further and reach an even higher place. “That is my ambition,” she said.
Yang made her international debut only last year and has raced to the top in her sport.
She secured a quota place for Paris 2024 when she finished sixth in the women's 25m pistol at the 2023 World Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan. She was also the Asian Games 25m pistol champion in Hangzhou last year and the 2023 World University Games 25m pistol champion.