Photo courtesy of Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee

Taipei, Aug. 20 (CNA) Taiwanese shooter Yang Kung-pi (楊昆弼) won a gold medal Monday in the men's trap shooting event of the 2018 Asian Games after nearly being eliminated in the competition's qualifying round.

Yang tied the world record by hitting 48 of his 50 targets to grab gold, beating Indian Lakshay Lakshay who hit 43 of his 50 targets and South Korean Ahn Dae-myong, who was eliminated after connecting with 30 of 40 targets.

It was Taiwan's second gold medal at the regional sports event, being held from Aug. 18 to Sept. 2 in the Indonesian cities of Jakarta and Palembang.

The 20-year-old Taiwanese placed 25th in the men's trap at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio. He was in sixth after Sunday's qualifying rounds and secured the sixth and last spot in the final in the second qualifying round earlier Monday by a single shot.

Yang admitted to being very nervous during the qualifying round and described his advancing to the final as "a miracle," which allowed him to relax and fully enjoy the finals.

His next goal, he said, is the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2020.

Athletes from 22 countries are competing in the Asian Games shooting competition, which are being held at the Jakabaring International Shooting Range in Palembang.

On Sunday, Taiwanese shooters Lin Ying-shin (林穎欣) and Lu Shao-chuan (呂紹全) clinched a gold medal in the 10-meter air rifle mixed team competition.

(By Lee Chin-wei and Elizabeth Hsu)
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