Viet Nam secures first gold at Asian shooting championship

Huy and Vinh successfully defeated Indian pair Arjun Cheema and Rhythm Sangwan 17-11 in the final of the 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team event.

Teams from South Korea and Pakistan took bronze medals.

"I am happy and proud after winning the Asian championship gold medal," said Vinh after the victory ceremony.

"It is a good start to the new year for me and the team. Hope that we will earn many more medals in the upcoming tournaments this year."

Earlier, Viet Nam had two pairs in this category. The first pair Lai Cong Minh and Nguyen Thùy Trang earned 563 points to stand at No 19 among 24 teams. They failed to advance to the final round.

Huy, Asian Games champion, and Vinh, Paris Olympics participant, performed well to have 580 points and placed second.

They were against Rhythm and Singh in the gold-medal match.

The Vietnamese shooters quickly went ahead after their first shots. The Indians tried to narrow the gap but their effort did not work as Huy and Vinh maintained perfect performance till the end to take Viet Nam's first title.

The Asian championship is the zonal Olympic qualification. There are 16 Olympic tickets available for shooters.

Athletes compete in 18 events for men and 14 for women, along with four for mixed teams.

Junior athletes will also have a chance to shine in eight events for both individual and team classes.

Viet Nam have 11 marksmen taking part in both pistol and rifle events.

Currently, Viet Nam earned one place at the Paris Games after Vinh placed fifth at the 2023 world championships' women's 10m air pistol.

The coaching board expected to earn more slot from the Indonesian tournament which is from January 8 to January 18./.