On Nov. 3, when competitors arrived at the Lusail Shooting Range in Doha, Qatar, for the women’s 10m air rifle event, Choi Ye-in, 18, could not compete despite traveling all the way to the venue with the South Korea national team.
The exclusion was not caused by an injury, a disciplinary issue, or a failure to meet performance standards. The Korea Shooting Federation (KSF) had simply left out her name during the entry process.
The KSF suspects that the responsible staff member successfully entered Choi’s details into the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) online system but closed the page without clicking the “save” button. As a result, her name was not registered, according to Yonhap.
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A South Korean athlete competes at a shooting competition. Photo by AFP |
The federation only discovered the error on Nov. 1 when the delegation arrived in Qatar to collect their athlete cards. Choi’s name did not come up on the list.
The KSF pleaded with the ISSF to add her to the roster. However, because the registration deadline had passed and the final entry list was locked, the international body rejected the request, SBS reported.
Choi, a senior at Juyeop High School, had earned her spot on the world stage by placing second in the competitive domestic selection trials. She was set to compete alongside 2024 Paris Olympic champion Ban Hyo-jin and teammate Kwon Eun-ji.
The young athlete reportedly burst into tears upon learning she was barred from the year’s most significant competition.
No team medal
The failure to register Choi also affected the national team. Under the World Championship format, the women’s 10m air rifle team score is determined by the combined individual qualification scores of three athletes from the same nation.
Because Choi was sidelined, South Korea was left with only two representatives. This made the squad ineligible to contend for a team medal.
Prior to the incident, the South Korea squad had been considered a major medal contender. Ban, who won gold at the Paris 2024 Olympics at just 16 years old, continued her stellar form by topping the Doha qualification round with a score of 636.9. Kwon also successfully reached the final, placing sixth in qualifications with 632.4 points.
In the individual final held on Nov. 3, Ban secured the gold medal with a score of 253.1, narrowly finishing 0.9 points ahead of China’s Han Jiayu. Kwon finished eighth.
Despite boasting an Olympic champion and two individual finalists, South Korea left the team event empty-handed.
The tournament in Doha marked the first qualification event for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics. South Korea, China and France secured the three available Olympic quota spots in the women’s 10m air rifle.
Fairness medal
In a gesture of goodwill on Nov. 7, the KSF announced that the ISSF decided to award Choi a “Fairness” medal, accompanied by a letter of encouragement from ISSF president Luciano Rossi. This recognition honors sportsmanship but does not count toward World Championship records.
The organizers, the Qatar Shooting & Archery Association (QSAA), also stepped in to award honorary gold medals to Choi, Ban and Kwon. Choi will receive a letter from the QSAA president, a certificate of participation and a commemorative coin.
These decisions are intended to support the athletes affected by an incident unrelated to their athletic performance; they do not serve as a substitute for competitive results.
The KSF also allocated a total of 25 million won (US$18,700), an amount equivalent to the federation’s bonus for a World Championship team gold medal. Of this sum, 20 million won will be distributed evenly among the three athletes, while 5 million won goes to their coach.
Immediately upon discovering the blunder, the KSF suspended the staff member responsible for the registration for an accountability investigation. The federation has pledged to recruit personnel with international experience and overhaul its registration procedures to prevent such an incident from happening again.
ISSF secretary general Alessandro Nicotra di San Giacomo also met with KSF representatives in Doha. The federation is examining its registration system’s activity logs to determine the exact cause and implement preventive measures for future tournaments.