Silver-medalist Park Ha-jun finishes last in 50-meter rifle qualifier

Korean sport shooter Park Ha-jun finished last in the men’s 50-meter rifle 3 positions qualification round at the Paris Olympics Wednesday, days after winning silver in the mixed 10-meter air rifle contest for Korea’s first medal of the Games.

Korea's Park Ha-jun competes in the qualification round of the men's 50-meter rifle 3 positions contest at the Chateauroux Shooting Centre in Chateauroux, France on Wednesday. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Korean sport shooter Park Ha-jun finished last in the men’s 50-meter rifle 3 positions qualification round at the Paris Olympics Wednesday, days after winning silver in the mixed 10-meter air rifle contest for Korea’s first medal of the Games.

Park placed 44th out of 44 athletes vying for a spot in the eight-man final, shooting a 572-23x with 185 points kneeling, 196 points prone and 191 points standing.

China’s Liu Yukun won the qualification round with a score of 594-38x — a new qualification Olympic record.

Park, 24, competed in three events at this year’s Olympics. He medaled in the mixed 10-meter air rifle event with Keum Ji-hyeon on Saturday but placed 13th in the men’s 10-meter air rifle qualification round the day after that.

Park has a far better record in the shorter-distanced event, winning multiple top-three finishes across individual and team 10-meter air rifle competitions on the global circuit but failing to break through in the 50-meter air rifle 3 positions discipline.

Korea has had a stellar run at the Chateauroux Shooting Centre in Chateauroux, France so far at the 2024 Games. After Park and Keum kicked off the medal haul, Oh Ye-jin and Kim Ye-ji nabbed silver and gold in the women’s 10-meter air pistol on Sunday, and Ban Hyo-jin took gold in the women’s 10-meter air rifle a day after that.

BY MARY YANG [mary.yang@joongang.co.kr]