Vietnam wins second gold medal at 2025 Asian Shooting Cup

The men's 25m rapid fire pistol event was divided into two rounds, on February 17 and 18. In each round, the shooters performed three speed shooting exercises in 8 seconds, 6 seconds and 4 seconds. Each exercise consisted of 2 rounds, with each round firing 5 rounds.

On the first day of competition, Ha Minh Thanh ranked first with 292 points. The points for each exercise were 100, 97 and 95 respectively. Meanwhile, Pham Quang Huy ranked sixth with 288 points (99-98-91), and Vu Tien Nam ranked 15th with 283 points (98-96-89).

By this afternoon, the three shooters continued to maintain stable performance in the second round of shooting. Minh Thanh, Quang Huy, Tien Nam scored 293, 288 and 283 points respectively.

The three Vietnamese athletes achieved a total score of 1,727, thereby winning the men's team gold medal. Following were Japan - 1,714 points and Indonesia - 1,711 points.

With a total of 585 points, Ha Minh Thanh topped the qualifying round, while Pham Quang Huy ranked sixth with 576 points - the last position to compete for the gold medal in the men's individual 25m rapid fire pistol. Meanwhile, Vu Tien Nam ranked 14th with 566 points.

The final format is also different in that it does not take the score on the target. The shooters must shoot 9.7 points or more to be counted as one point, each series of 4 shots in 4 seconds. After 4 series, the shooter with the lowest score is eliminated, from there moving on to the eighth series, with only the 2 highest scorers remaining to compete.

Pham Quang Huy was eliminated first with only 9 points after the first 4 rounds, while Ha Minh Thanh ranked fourth with 3 more points. In the next 2 rounds, the 1985-born shooter scored 8 more points to secure a place in the top 3. He was 1 point behind Nikita Chiryukin (Kazakhstan) and 4 points behind Yoon Seo-yeong.

In the seventh series, Minh Thanh won all 5 points, but Chiryukin also miraculously did the same, while Yoon added 3 points. The Vietnamese shooter accepted the bronze medal with 25 points, only one and two points behind the top two.

In the deciding series, Chiryukin only won 2 points, while Yoon won 4. The Korean shooter won the gold medal with 31 points, with 8 series winning 3 points or more.

Prior to today's achievement, Vietnam won the gold medal in the mixed 10m air pistol event for Pham Quang Huy and Trinh Thu Vinh on February 12. In the afternoon of the same day, Quang Huy, Lai Cong Minh and Nguyen Dinh Thanh won the silver medal in the men's 10m air pistol team event.

A day later, Thu Vinh and Quang Huy won two bronze medals in the women's and men's 10m individual air pistol. On February 16, Thu Vinh, Nguyen Thuy Dung and Nguyen Thuy Trang won bronze medals in the women's 25m sport pistol.

The 2025 Asian Shooting Cup will be held in Thailand from February 9 to 22, with rifles and air pistols. More than 280 top shooters from 23 countries and territories will compete in seven men's, five women's, two mixed and six junior events. However, the tournament will be without shooters from two powerhouses, China and India.

Vietnam participated with 18 athletes, including Trinh Thu Vinh, Pham Quang Huy, Ha Minh Thanh, Lai Cong Minh, Le Thi Mong Tuyen, Nguyen Dinh Thanh, Nguyen Thanh Nam, Nguyen Thi Thao, Nguyen Thuy Trang, Nguyen Phan Hien Khanh, Nguyen Tam Quang, Nguyen Thuy Dung, Phan Cong Minh, Phi Thanh Thao, Tran An Tin, Tran Cong Hieu, Trieu Thi Hoa Hong and Vu Tien Nam.