Korean shooter Cho Yeong-jae takes silver in 25m rapid fire pistol

Cho shot 25 for silver, becoming the first Korean to medal in the event at the Olympics.

Korean shooter Cho Yeong-jae celebrates winning a silver medal in the 25-meter rapid fire pistol men’s final at the Paris Olympics at Chateauroux Shooting Centre in France on Monday. [NEWS1]

Korean shooter Cho Yeong-jae won a silver medal in the 25-meter rapid fire pistol men’s final at the Paris Olympics Monday, becoming the first Korean to medal in the event at the Olympics.

Cho shot a total score of 25 at the Chateauroux Shooting Centre in Chateauroux, France, falling seven points behind gold medalist Li Yuehong of China to take silver at his first Olympic appearance.

Rapid fire pistol is a men-only event and consists of two stages in which shooters fire five shots per series. They shoot at five targets, 75 centimeters apart, at a distance of 25 meters.

The first stage consists of three series, while the second stage is an elimination contest during which the shooter with the lowest score exits in each series.

Cho shot six in the first stage and survived through the end of the contest, shooting 25 to win silver. Wang Xinjie of China took bronze with 23.

Monday’s silver brings Korean shooters’ medal count at this year’s Olympics to six, the highest number of shooting medals Korea has won at a single Games.

Korea won three gold and three silver in the sport.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]