▲ The South Korean national team, consisting of Seong Se-young (Dong-Eui University), Lee Yu-hwan (Gangwon Physical Education High School), and Park Tae-ho (Songhyeon High School), won the gold medal in the men's 25m pistol team event at the 2026 ISSF Junior World Championships (from left).
The rising stars of the South Korean junior shooting team have delivered a golden performance in their international debut.
The Korea Shooting Federation announced on June 22 that the national team, composed of Lee Yu-hwan (Gangwon Physical Education High School), Seong Se-young (Dong-Eui University), and Park Tae-ho (Songhyeon High School), won the men's 25m pistol team event at the 2026 International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) Junior World Championships held in Suhl, Germany, on June 21 (KST), with a combined score of 1,737 points.
South Korea secured the victory by a 3-point margin over second-place Ukraine, which scored 1,734 points, thanks to consistent performances from Lee (582 points), Seong (578 points), and Park (577 points).
India took third place with 1,732 points, while North Korea (Kim Gwang-rim, Sin Myong-il, and Park Tae-ryong) finished in fourth place with 1,726 points.
The 25m pistol team event determines rankings by summing the individual scores of three athletes per country, with each athlete firing a total of 60 shots—30 in the precision stage and 30 in the rapid-fire stage.
Although none of the three South Korean athletes reached the podium in the individual event, they combined their steady skills to reach the top of the team event.
The achievement is particularly significant as this tournament marked the international debut for all three athletes.
The competition also saw the emergence of a new rivalry between promising young shooters from South and North Korea.
Kim Gwang-rim of North Korea, who placed second in the 25m pistol individual event (583 points-20X), and South Korea's Lee Yu-hwan, who finished third in the 25m rapid-fire pistol event the previous day (and fourth in the individual pistol event), engaged in close competition throughout the tournament.
If North Korea participates in next year's World Championships in Daegu, expectations are high for an intriguing inter-Korean showdown in the men's 25m pistol event.
Lee Byung-jun, the head coach for the national candidate team, praised the athletes, saying, "Despite having no international experience and facing intense pressure from other countries, the athletes did not lose their focus. Their teamwork, built on mutual trust and support, led to this valuable victory."
Lee Yu-hwan, who added a team gold medal to the bronze he won in the rapid-fire pistol event the day before, said, "Even amidst the immense tension of the international stage, the desperation of the athletes was the same. I will address my shortcomings and shoot with a fresh mindset."
Seong Se-young, who overcame the disappointment of being eliminated first in the rapid-fire pistol final to help win the gold, shared his thoughts: "Standing on the podium, I felt truly proud and happy. I want to become a shooter that everyone knows." Park Tae-ho added, "While I have some regrets about my score, I will show even better performance in the future."
(Photo: Courtesy of Korea Shooting Federation, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.