(LEAD) (Asiad) S. Korea picks up silver in mixed team shooting event

NAGOYA, Japan, Sept. 22 (Yonhap) -- South Korea won silver in the 10-meter air rifle mixed team event at the Asian Games on Tuesday, its first silver in the sport after grabbing two bronze medals earlier.

Ban Hyo-jin and Park Ha-jun finished in second place with 502.9 points in the final at Aichi Prefectural General Shooting Gallery in Toyota, some 25 kilometers east of the main host city of Nagoya. The Chinese tandem of Wang Zifei and Sheng Lihao won the gold with a world record total of 507.1 points.

Japan took bronze with 439.7 points, while India finished last in the four-team final with 376.3 points.

Both South Korean shooters had won bronze medals earlier in the competition -- Ban in the women's 10m air rifle individual event and Park in the men's 10m air rifle team event.

In the mixed team final, each shooter took 15 shots, for a total of 30 shots per team, in Stage 1, with the perfect score being 10.9 points.

After those initial 30 shots, the shooters each fired three shots for six shots per team in Stage 2, and the lowest-scoring team at that point ended in fourth place.

The bronze medal was determined after six more shots per team, and the two remaining teams battled over the final six shots for the gold.

After the initial 30 shots, South Korea was in third place with 314.3 points, with China leading at 315.7 and Japan in second place at 314.9 points. India brought up the rear at 312.3 points.

India was eliminated first after the first series of Stage 2, with South Korea trailing Japan 378.2 to 378.1.

As China pulled away, South Korea and Japan went back and forth. And with one shot left per shooter in the second series, South Korea sat 0.8 point behind Japan.

Park, who had earlier shot a 9.9, came through with a 10.9 to help South Korea hold off Japan by 440.1 to 439.7.

China was well ahead at 443.6 points. After the first shots of the final series, the gap widened, with Ban and Park going 10.7 and 9.7, respectively, while Wang and Sheng hit 10.8 and 10.7 to all but clinch the gold for China.

"Before that shot, I thought we were going to end up in third place. But I just wanted to do my best on the last shot, and I ended up hitting 10.9," Park said. "I knew right then I was going to brag about it with Hyo-jin. As soon as we finished, I told her, 'You won this silver all thanks to me,'"

Ban said she thought Park was saving his best for last.

"It is more fun to win a medal with a comeback like this," she added. "I felt Ha-jun knew what he was doing."

Park won his second straight Asiad medal in this event after winning bronze three years ago. This is the first Asian Games for Ban, the 2024 Olympic gold medalist and the 2025 world champion in the 10m air rifle individual event.

Park and Ban, who have been partners in the mixed team event for nearly three years, said their chemistry has never been an issue.

"We will try to beat China next time," Park said. "I think Hyo-jin and I will be back together for the world championships in November and we will go for the gold medal then."

South Korea is still awaiting its first gold in shooting here after setting out to bring home at least five.