Kim Sun-woo brought South Korea its first medal at the 19th Asian Games in the women’s individual modern pentathlon Sunday, but she thought she could have done better than her silver.

The 26-year-old scored 1,386 points to win the silver medal in the final of the women’s individual five-sport event at Fuyang Yinhu Sports Centre in Hangzhou. She finished 20 points behind Chinese Zhang Mingyu, while China’s Bian Yufei took bronze with 1,374 points.

Kim’s medal is the country’s first at this year’s continental competition.

But she shed tears in a mixed-zone interview, saying she should have done better in shooting during the final laser run race, a combination of shooting and running, to overcome the deficit with the Chinese winner.

“I felt a little more sensitive, as my gun went off while I was loading it,” she told reporters in tears. “As I kept getting off track in shooting, I struggled in running.”

Despite starting the laser run 16 seconds behind the then leader Bian of China, Kim soon passed her. But Kim was outpaced by Zhang, who snatched a come-from-behind victory on an outstanding performance in the laser run, and Kim crossed the finish line after the Chinese.

Nevertheless, this year’s medal is her first individual silver medal at an Asiad as she won the gold in the team event in 2014 and the individual bronze in 2018.

“At my first Asiad, I just followed my senior teammates, and in 2018, I overworked and had lower-than-expected points in fencing,” she said. “This time, I just decided to take it easy in fencing, and I received favorable results.”

Now, the athlete is eyeing the Paris Olympics next July. Kim grabbed an Olympic berth for the women’s individual modern pentathlon, which was given to the top five athletes at the Hangzhou Asiad.

“Here at the Asian Games, I learned that I have a long way to go and need to work harder,” she said. “I’ll prepare for the next season in a perfect way, starting with the winter training.”

At an Olympics, no South Korean female modern pentathlete has reached the podium. Her teammate Kim Se-hee finished 11th at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, the best Olympic performance by a female pentathlete, while Kim Sun-woo placed 17th.

On the male side, Jun Woong-tae finished third in Tokyo, becoming the first South Korean athlete to win an Olympic medal in modern pentathlon.

Source: Yonhap News Agency