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NAGOYA, Japan, September 22 (Yonhap) -- South Korea claimed silver in the 10-meter air rifle mixed team event at the Asian Games on Tuesday, marking its first silver in the sport following two bronze medals earlier. Ban Hyo-jin and Park Ha-jun secured the second-place position with 502.9 points in the final at Aichi Prefectural General Shooting Gallery in Toyota, located approximately 25 kilometers east of Nagoya's main host city.

The Chinese duo of Wang Zifei and Sheng Lihao emerged victorious with a world-record total of 507.1 points, while Japan secured bronze with 439.7 points. India concluded the four-team final in last place with 376.3 points. Both South Korean shooters had previously earned bronze medals in other events -- Ban in the women's 10m air rifle individual event and Park in the men's 10m air rifle team event.

During the mixed team final, each shooter fired 15 shots (30 shots per team) in the first stage, with a perfect score being 10.9 points. The shooter with the lowest score then proceeded to fire three shots in the second stage, followed by six shots per team. The lowest-scoring team at that point was eliminated from the competition.

The bronze medal was determined after another six shots per team, and the gold medal was ultimately decided by the two remaining teams battling it out over the final six shots. Following the initial 30 shots, South Korea found itself in third place with 314.3 points, China leading at 315.7 points, and Japan in second place at 314.9 points.

India trailed behind with 312.3 points. India was eliminated first following the initial series of Stage 2, with South Korea trailing Japan by 0.1 points. As China pulled away, South Korea and Japan exchanged positions. With one shot left per shooter in the second series, South Korea was just 0.8 points behind Japan. Park, who had earlier shot a 9.9, delivered a final shot of 10.9 to help South Korea surpass Japan by a margin of 440.1 to 439.7.

China was significantly ahead at 443.6 points. After the opening shots of the final series, the gap widened as Ban and Park shot 10.7 and 9.7, respectively, while Wang and Sheng scored 10.8 and 10.7, effectively sealing the gold for China. Park reflected on the experience, saying he initially thought they would end up in third place.

However, he expressed his satisfaction with his performance on the last shot, which earned him the silver medal. Ban, Park's partner in the mixed team event for nearly three years, also acknowledged the significance of the silver medal, noting that it was particularly rewarding to win a medal with a comeback like this. Park and Ban emphasized that their teamwork has always been strong and expressed their intention to challenge China for the gold medal in the future, including at the world championships in November.

South Korea remains without its first gold in shooting at these Asian Games, having initially set out to bring home at least five medals.