Yang Ji-in sets a 25m pistol world record and wins a second world title

South Korea's Yang Ji-in just won a world title the hard way, and broke a world record while doing it. The Paris 2024 Olympic champion scored 44 in the women's 25m pistol final at the ISSF World Championships in Doha on 10 November.

That makes her world champion for the second year in a row.

What happened?

Yang reached the final in fifth place after scoring 588 in the two-day qualification round. Vietnam's Trinh Thu Vinh led for most of the final, and Yang was behind through the first seven series.

Then she turned it around. From the eighth to the tenth series, Yang hit all 15 shots. She finished on 44 points, one ahead of Trinh on 43, for a dramatic comeback gold.

Why is everyone talking about it?

Because 44 is a new world record in a final. The previous best was 43, set by India's Esha Singh at the Munich World Cup in May.

It is also a redemption story. At the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games earlier this year, Yang missed a medal after running out of time in the qualification round and failing to fire one shot. This time she smiled at the end.

"I was really envious when an unofficial world record was shot at a domestic competition, so I'm happy I did it myself," she said.

There was more. Yang, Oh Ye-jin and Nam Da-jung took silver in the team event with 1,748 points, behind India (1,761) and ahead of Vietnam (1,745) in third. Together with a bronze in the 10m air pistol team event on 5 November, Yang leaves Doha with one gold, one silver and one bronze.

What's next?

The win also earned a quota place for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. But quotas at this event go to countries, not athletes, so Yang still has to get through South Korea's national selection trials. "I'll do my best so that it's me going to the LA Olympics, not another athlete," she said.

This is not her first big run. She won Olympic gold in Paris in 2024, then took both the individual and team titles at the 2025 World Championships in Cairo.

Coach Ma Seo-yun called the individual gold "a great foundation for her growth", but admitted the team silver stung. Korea will prepare for the fast rise of India and Vietnam "from many angles", she said.