(Asiad) Shooters land in Nagoya carrying high medal hopes

NAGOYA, Japan, Sept. 15 (Yonhap) -- The national shooting team competing at the Asian Games arrived in the main host city of Nagoya on Tuesday, carrying high hopes for a handful of gold medals.

Led by head coach Chang Kap-seok, 30 South Korean shooters landed in the central Japanese city five days before the start of their competition.

The opening ceremony for the Asian Games is Saturday, and the first shooting medals will be awarded Sunday in the women's 10-meter air rifle individual and team events.

Ban Hyo-jin, the 2024 Olympic gold medalist and the 2025 world champion in the 10m individual event, is considered a strong gold medal contender this time.

Ban's gold at the 2024 Olympics in Paris was one of six medals by South Korea, the most shooting medals the country has won at an Olympics. And with Ban and other Olympic medalists competing at the Asian Games here, Chang said he felt confident his squad could meet its target of five gold medals, nine silver medals and five bronze medals.

"Of course, there is some pressure on us after the Olympics," Chang told reporters at Chubu Centrair International Airport. "And many of our rival countries are Asian countries. But I don't foresee major problems. I am nervous but excited at the same time. We feel well prepared for the competition, and as long as we execute our plans, I think we will accomplish our goal."

Chang's athletes had trained at two separate venues in South Korea from Sept. 7 to Sunday, going as far as changing the colors of the walls inside the venues to resemble the Asian Games competition site, Aichi Prefectural General Shooting Gallery. And when the national team officials learned that the main color in Japan had changed from orange to purple, they scrambled to make the same alteration at the training sites.

Chang said the Korea Institute of Sport Science provided valuable assistance during training camp, using its latest technology to analyze shooters' body positions, for instance.

The coach added that he tried to help his athletes stay ready for contingencies, including an equipment malfunction.

"It is not as though the athletes will not feel nervous just because we coaches tell them not to," Chang said. "It comes down to how they can channel those nerves into something positive."

South Korea's first gold medal at the Aichi-Nagoya Asiad could come from the women's 10m air rifle event, though Chang said he had not brought up that point with his shooters, so as not to put any extra pressure on them.

"Maybe the first gold will come from modern pentathlon," Chang said with a smile, referring to the sport whose first medals will likely be handed out around noon Sunday, a couple of hours before the shooting event.

"But our goal is also to win the gold medal so we will do our best," Chang added. "We are always grateful for our fans' support, and we will do our best to reward them with good results."