Changwon, KOREA - (FirearmsGuide.com) - Jin Jongoh came back from a 6.2-point deficit and secured his second consecutive 10m Air Pistol Men world title in a sold-out finals hall at the Changwon International Shooting Centre. After he started the final with two frustrating shots - a 9.4 and an 8.4 - Jin found himself in 7th place at the end of the

first 5-shot series, battling to avoid elimination instead of competing for a medal. But then the cheering home crowd carried him ahead and, shot after shot, he climbed up the standings, overtaking his rivals.

When only six shots were left to be fired, the gap that separated Jin Jongoh from Russia’s 22-year-old Artem Chernousov — who led the match since the very first shot — was 6.2 points, and as the crowd started getting louder Jin nailed a fantastic series of shots in the 10th ring, first reducing the gap to 4.0 points with a 10.5-10.4 combination, then inching even closer with a 10.2 and a 10.6.

Finally, with the two conclusive shots the four-time Olympic Champion erased the remaining gap, and the two athletes finished the 24-shot round tied at 241.5 points, both winning a long and well deserved applause of the crowd.

In the following and decisive shoot-off for gold, Jin Jongoh fired his eighth consecutive shot in the 10th ring, scoring a 10.3, besting Chernousov’s 9.5 and confirming himself as the ISSF World Championship gold medalist in the Air Pistol event. Chernousov finished with the silver medal around his neck in his first World Championship participation. Bronze went to South Korea’s Lee Daemyung with 220.6 points. The four Olympic quota places up for grabs were awarded to the Republic of Korea — which took two quotas — the Russian Federation and Ukraine.

“I was very disappointed after my first series,” said Jin. “This could be the last World Championship for me, so I told myself I couldn’t make any other mistake.”

“I’m extremely happy we got both quotas and to be on the podium with my teammate. We spent most of the time together, talked a lot and supported each other.”

“We’ll have a get-together very soon to celebrate, but for today I’ll just clear my mind and enjoy this moment!” he concluded.

Earlier today, Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Olympic silver medalist Zuzana Rehak Stefecekova of Slovakia claimed the women’s trap title. She beat China’s Wang Xiaojing in a shoot-off for gold, after the two athletes shot neck and neck right to the last clay, finishing tied with 45 hits out of 50 targets each. Stefecekova cleared the shoot-off outscoring her Chinese opponents 3 to 2 hits, claiming the title for the second time in her career.

Bronze went to Italy’s Silvana Stanco, 25, who scored 36 targets to claim her first world championship medal in career. She was followed by Australia’s Laetisha Scanlan, 28, who finished in fourth place with 30 hits. The top four shooters also secured an Olympic quota place for Tokyo 2020.

The ISSF World Championship in Changwon (KOR) will continue tomorrow with four more finals: the 50m Rifle 3 Positions Men, scheduled at 12:15 pm (UTC+9:00), the 10m Air Rifle Men Junior, taking place at 2:00 pm, the 10m Air Rifle Women Junior, taking place at 3:45 pm, and the Trap Mixed Team, which will close the competition day at 5:00 pm.