This photo is unrelated to the article. [Yonhap]
This photo is unrelated to the article. [Yonhap]

A national team shooter was unable to compete at the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Championships in Doha, Qatar, after an administrative blunder by the Korea Shooting Federation — a competition where Olympic quota spots for the 2028 Los Angeles Games were on the line.

Choi Ye-in, a third-year student at Juyeop High School, was unable to take her position on the firing line Tuesday in the women's 10-meter air rifle event at the ISSF World Championships in Doha.

The problem came to light Sunday when the team was collecting athlete accreditation cards: Choi's name was missing from the official entry list. The federation attempted to register her on-site with the ISSF, but the entry list had already been finalized and the request was denied.

The federation said it believes a staff member entered Choi's information into the online system but closed the screen without clicking the "save" button. The federation required the employee responsible to submit a written account of the incident and placed the employee on administrative standby Monday. A personnel committee hearing is scheduled for Nov. 13.

Choi had earned her place on the national team by finishing second in the selection trials. She had been set to compete alongside Ban Hyo-jin of the Daegu Facilities Corporation and Kwon Eun-ji of Uljin-gun Office — Ban being the gold medalist in the event at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The official entry list for the women's 10-meter air rifle event, approved by the ISSF on Sunday, included 122 athletes. Only Ban and Kwon were registered for South Korea.

In the women's 10-meter air rifle team event, rankings are determined by combining the individual qualifying scores of three athletes per country. With only two registered shooters, South Korea was also unable to enter the team competition.

The championships mark the first opportunity for shooting athletes to secure quota places for the LA Olympics, with three spots available in the women's 10-meter air rifle event.

Choi was seen in tears after learning she would not be able to compete, but picked up her rifle again, saying, "Still, I have to keep training."

South Korean shooting had been beset by administrative problems even before the competition began. After the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, the federation dissolved its existing athlete performance committee and formed a new one to select the national team for the 2027 season — a move that prompted the dismissed committee members to file an objection with the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC).

With the KSOC withholding approval of the national team roster, the 35 athletes competing at the championships were denied access to the national training center in Jincheon and instead gathered individually at Incheon International Airport before departing for Doha.

The federation said it was "regrettable that even athletes whose selection is beyond question are being held up," while the KSOC said it "had no choice but to follow the rules, given the need to uphold the legitimacy of the national team selection process," adding that it "took steps to ensure athletes were not prevented from competing at a tournament where Olympic quota spots are at stake."


dbsdn1110@heraldcorp.com