(Adds details, quotes)
* Jin overhauls fellow Korean Choi
* Second gold of the Games for Jin
By Patrick Johnston
LONDON, Aug 5 (Reuters) – South Korean shooter Jin Jong-oh
apologised for breaking the heart of compatriot Choi Young-rae
on Sunday by overcoming a huge deficit to retain the men’s 50
metre pistol title for his second gold of the Games.
Jin began the 10-shot final seven points behind Choi but
after a run of impressive scoring, he finished with a total of
662.0 ahead of Choi on 661.5. Zhiwei Wang of China was a distant
third on 658.6.
“Today I am so happy but I’m sorry to Mr Choi that I
intercepted the gold medal,” a beaming Jin told reporters
through a translator.
“Choi was expected to win the gold medal and I’m sorry about
that. I never expected a gold medal, I hoped to win a bronze
medal.”
Choi, the world number 55, surprised everyone by finishing
the 60-shot qualifying session, where competitors aim for the 50
millimetre highest scoring ring, with 569 out of 600 for a
three-point lead over Wang.
Choi showed few nerves as Wang struggled, allowing the
30-year-old to stretch his advantage to 6.6 after four rounds.
But the pressure of competing in his first competitive final
eventually took its toll.
Jin, who had qualified fifth for the eight-man final,
demonstrated the form that brought him gold in the 10m pistol on
the opening day as he narrowly picked away at the deficit and
watched his name move up the leaderboard.
The 6.6-point advantage was slashed to 3.4 after a woeful
7.4 by Choi in the fifth as Jin fired a 10.6 and the capacity
crowd sensed the momentum shift.
Smelling blood, Jin then avoided the scores on the monitor
for the remainder of the session as he rained down another 10.6
and pressed for the win.
With four rounds left Choi held a 3.3 but he failed to score
above 9.4 with his remaining efforts as the lead evaporated down
to 1.6 with one shot to come.
Requiring one final push to seal the surprise gold, a
nervous Choi hit a wild 8.1 and then stood and watched as Jin
fired a 10.2 to complete the remarkable turnaround.
“Heartbreak,” was Choi’s verdict at losing out on the gold.
“It was my worst shot but I tried to do my best and when I
finished my last shot, I was finished, relieved,” he said.
Choi, who was seen in tears after he left the indoor range,
later told reporters he was happy with the result.
“I didn’t expect this performance and silver medal,” Choi
said, rubbing his medal as he waited for his words to be
translated.
The Korean pair embraced after the final and Jin said the
duo would have dinner with the rest of the team this evening as
planned.
Wang survived a close fight with Vietnam’s Xuan Vinh Hoang
to claim bronze by 0.1 after a brilliant final 10.6 shot, which
gave China their seventh shooting medal of the Games.
Asian rivals Japan can only dream of that total after
further disappointment at the Royal Artillery Barracks on Sunday
where world number two Tomoyuki Matsuda failed to reach the
final after losing a six-man shootoff for the last place.
The policeman from Yokohama, who narrowly escaped the
earthquake and tsunami in Japan last year, had been a favourite
before the competition started and his struggles proved too much
for his family in the crowd.
“My eldest son cried at Beijing 2008 and my second son cried
this time. I am going to say to my family, ‘let’s smile in
Rio’,” Matsuda told reporters.
(Reporting by Patrick Johnston; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall)
