It's the first 金!' Pistol ace Cho Jung-doo wins Korea's first gold medal at the Paris Paralympics

Aug 30, 2024

The main character of the Korean team's first gold medal at the 2024 Paris Paralympics came from shooting. 'Pistol Aces' Cho Jung-du won the gold medal in the men's 10-meter air pistol shooting P1 held at Chatoru Shooting Center in France on the night of the 30th (Korea time). Cho Jung-du picks breathing before shooting the final round. Presented by the Korea Sports Council for the Disabled

The first gold medal of the Korean team has finally come out in the Paralympics 'Hyoja event' shooting.

The main character was Cho Jung-doo (37, BDH Paras), a pistol ace. Earlier, Lee Yun-ri (49, Wando County Office) won a silver medal in the women's 10-meter air rifle (sports grade SH1), and Cho Jung-du won the "1st gold medal" in the shooting.

Cho Jung-du shot 237.4 points in the final round of the P1 men's 10m air pistol (sports grade SH1) at Chatoru Shooting Center in France on the night of the 30th (Korea time), beating Manish Narwal of India by 2.5 points. Narwal only scored 234.9. It was an overwhelming victory.

A total of eight players participate in the air pistol final, shooting 10 shots first, and then shooting two shots later, and the player with the lowest total score is eliminated one by one.

Cho Jung-du, who reached the final, shot 98.9 points in his first 10 shots, ranking second after Yang Chao (100.6 points from China). Since then, Cho Jung-doo has been shaken greatly, shooting four out of five shots below 10.0 points from the 11th shot to the 15th shot. Because of this, the ranking fell to third place when he shot 16 times, and he was 0.9 points apart from No. 1 Narwal.

The main character of the Korean team's first gold medal at the 2024 Paris Paralympics came from shooting. 'Pistol Aces' Cho Jung-du won the gold medal in the men's 10-meter air pistol shooting P1 held at Chatoru Shooting Center in France on the night of the 30th (Korea time). Cho Jung-du carefully takes aim at the target. Presented by the Korea Sports Council for the Disabled

However, Cho quickly overcame the initial crisis. He shot 10.4 in his 17th attack and hit 10.8 in his 18th, close to a perfect (10.9). He scored 10.3 points in succession in his 19th and 20th shots. In the end, he rose to first place with a combined score of 198.9 points up to 20 shots.

Since then, he has raced at the forefront without shaking. In the end, he shot 10.8 points in his 23rd bout, making his score gap with Narwal 3.7 points, effectively sealing the gold medal. Unless Cho Jung-du made a mistake with less than 7 points, the reversal was impossible. Cho stayed focused until the end.

Cho Jung-du, who was diagnosed with meningitis and became a spinal cord disorder due to the aftereffects of not receiving proper treatment while serving in the military, was living in seclusion for the next eight years, buried in shooting games due to frustration. However, he met the shooting and came back to the world, and started a new life. In 2019, he became a top player, winning the World Championship, and consistently performed well in each tournament he participated in. And finally, he was named the No. 1 gold medalist for the Korean team at the Paris Paralympics.

wman@sportschosun.com