‘Korea’s first medal’ Park Ha-jun’s father “Congratulatory calls pouring in at the restaurant… I’m proud of my son” (Paris Olympics)

Active shooter’s older sister also said, “I respect my younger brother”
Geum Ji-hyeon’s husband supports and cares for his 14-month-old daughter

Park Ha-jun (KT) and Geum Ji-hyun (Gyeonggi Provincial Office) became the first Korean team to win medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Park Ha-jun and Geum Ji-hyun lost to Sheng Lihao and Huang Yuting (China) in a close match in the 10m mixed air rifle event held at the Chateauroux Shooting Center in France on the 27th (local time) with a set score of 12-16. The mixed air rifle gold medal match is a point-based match where the male and female athletes each shoot one shot, and the team with the higher score gets 2 points. The losing team does not get a point, and in the case of a tie, each team gets 1 point. The team that reaches 16 points first wins.

Korea first earned 2 points in the first round, but then lost the next three rounds to China. After that, Korea surpassed China with a total score of 20.8 points in the five rounds, but lost the sixth round and won the seventh round to close the gap to 6-8. Korea lost the next two rounds to widen the gap to 6-12, but won the 10th round to narrow the gap to 4 points, but then lost the 11th round to fall behind 10-14, putting Korea in danger. However, it won the next two rounds in a row to close the gap to 12-14, but in the last round, the 13th round, China shot almost perfect with 21.5 points, and Korea unfortunately only got the silver medal despite a good score of 21.1 points.

Park Ha-jun and Geum Ji-hyun are the same age, born in 2000. Park Ha-jun is the youngest child in a shooting family, and Geum Ji-hyun is a ‘mom shooter’ with a daughter who just turned one.

Park Ha-jun, the youngest of three sons and one daughter, started shooting in the sixth grade of elementary school under the influence of his third older sister Park Ha-hyang-gi (Jeongseon County Office), who is active as a shooter. Park Ha-jun, who developed his skills at a rapid pace, won two silver medals and one bronze medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games held last year, becoming the top Korean male rifle shooter. He also won first place with an overwhelming record at the Olympic team selection held this year, and set a new Korean record at the Changwon Mayor’s Cup held before the Olympics.

Park Ha-jun’s father Park Jong-gyun and mother Cho Young-ja, who watched the game with eager hearts, said they were proud of their son who won the valuable silver medal. Park Ha-jun’s parents said through his team KT, “We hoped Ha-jun wouldn’t be nervous, but I was more nervous watching him. Just the fact that he won a silver medal at the Olympics, where all the best athletes from around the world gather, is a valuable result in itself.” They also said, “We’re constantly getting congratulatory calls at the restaurant. I’m so proud that I got this precious experience thanks to my youngest. I want to make him a delicious meal when he comes back.” In particular, his older sister Park Ha-hyang-gi, an active shooter, said, “I knew that my younger brother was a good shooter, but I didn’t expect him to get such a meaningful result as a silver medal on such a big stage,” and “I respect him as a fellow athlete. I want to tell him that he worked hard as much as he did.”

After giving birth to her daughter in May last year, Geum Ji-hyeon continued her hard work as an athlete and became an Olympic medalist.

She found out she was pregnant before the 2022 International Shooting Federation World Cup in Cairo, and despite her anxiety, she secured a quota for the Paris Olympics. Ji-Hyeon Geum, who competed in the competition while fully pregnant and performed well until just before giving birth, even earned her first Olympic ticket. In an interview with Yonhap News Agency before the competition, Ji-Hyeon Geum said, “I feel sorry that I can’t play with my daughter right now, but I’m holding back because I don’t want to be an embarrassing mother to my daughter later.”

After the match, Geum Ji-hyeon said, “I couldn’t talk on the phone after the gold medal match, but after the main event, when I won the silver medal, I had a video call. My whole family was gathered and everyone was crying. That gave me strength,” expressing her gratitude. She said that she was able to focus on the match thanks to her husband taking care of their daughter in Ulsan.

Park Ha-jun and Geum Ji-hyeon will once again challenge for the gold medal in the men’s and women’s 10m air rifle individual events held on the 28th.

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