South Korean air rifle male ace Park Ha-joon (24-KT) has a phrase he hates. “Ha-joon Park’s army” is a phrase he hates. In a profile released by the Korean Shooting Federation ahead of the Olympics, it was listed as his jinx. In addition to the military, he hates hearing the phrase in the stands, so much so that he once asked spectators not to say it before a match.
Winning a gold medal at last year’s Asian Games in Hangzhou would have exempted him from military service, but Park won silver in the individual and team 10-meter air rifle events and bronze in the mixed event.
But on a bigger stage, at the Olympics, he was able to fulfill his military service with one shot. Now, he no longer has to hear the word military.
On Sunday (local time), Park teamed up with 2000-born Ban Ban-hyun (Gyeonggi Province) to win a silver medal in the 10-meter mixed air rifle event at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Chateauroux Shooting Center in France. Despite winning a valuable silver medal in his first Olympic Games, and in his first event, he was not smiling.
“I worked hard and it paid off,” said Park, who met with the media long after the medal ceremony after being randomly doped, ”I lost to a Chinese athlete after the Asian Games, and I want to make up for it in the individual event tomorrow.”
He was referring to China’s Sheng Lihao, who won the gold medal in the event. Park had to settle for a silver medal in the men’s 10-meter air rifle event at last year’s Hangzhou Asian Games, where he was edged out by Rihao.
Park said, “I am relieved to have won a medal today, but I will forget 안전놀이터 about today’s medal and think of tomorrow as my first time again. I want to win a gold medal in the individual event,” he said.
Park had been preparing for the mixed event in Paris with “high school shooter” Ban Hyo-jin (Daegu Chego), but switched to Ban Ban-hyun, who is the same age as Park, just before the start of the competition, and the two became a “godsend,” working well together to win a silver medal. “I think I was able to win a medal because I switched partners,” Park said. “I’ve gotten closer to Ban Joo-hyun these days. Originally, we weren’t close,” he said honestly.
Park, who was scheduled to enlist in the Korean Armed Forces Sports Unit early next year, will now be able to continue his career with KT. “I didn’t like talking about the army because it was something that confused me during the finals of domestic competitions. I didn’t think much about military service when I was preparing for the Olympics, but I’m glad I’m finally getting the benefits,” he said.
“It hasn’t really sunk in yet, but I think I’m going to go back to my room and have a big bowl of ramen with my coaches and talk about it a lot,” said Park, who has a silver medal around his neck.
Chateauroux, the site of the Paris Olympic shooting competition, is a remote location more than 300 kilometers from Paris. The city’s many cultural heritage sites and colorful night views are a far cry. “I’m not disappointed that I can’t go to Paris. I’m here to compete. I’m here to compete,” he said.