Trinh Thu Vinh secured a fourth-place finish in the women's 25m pistol individual final at the ASIAD 2026 in Aichi, Japan, on 28/9, narrowly missing her second medal at the Games. She qualified for the final with 585 points, ranking third overall in the qualification round. Her performance included 291 points in the slow fire and 294 points in the rapid fire segments. Notably, Olympic gold medalist Yang Ji-in of South Korea, ranked 17th, was eliminated in tears.

The final presented a formidable field of competitors. Trinh Thu Vinh, ranked 27th globally in this event by the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF), faced top-tier shooters. India's Esha Singh led the pack, holding the world record with 43 points. Other strong contenders included China's Xiao Jiaruixuan (3rd), Iran's Haniyeh Rostamiyan (14th), China's Shang Kaiyan (16th), Taiwan's Tien Chia-chen (18th), and North Korea's Kim Hyon-suk (25th).

Trinh Thu Vinh (in red) competes in the women's 25m pistol at ASIAD 2026, Aichi shooting range, Japan, 28/9/2026. Photo: Quy Luong

The final adopted a modified format, eliminating Trinh Thu Vinh's preferred slow fire discipline and focusing solely on rapid fire. The scoring system also differed significantly from qualification, with points no longer based directly on target scores. Shooters needed to achieve 10,2 points or higher per shot to earn one point, with each series comprising five shots. After four series, the shooter with the lowest score was eliminated. This progressive elimination continued until only the two highest-scoring shooters remained for the 10th series.

Trinh Thu Vinh had a difficult start, ranking 7th with 9 points after the initial three series. However, she found her rhythm in the subsequent four series, consistently scoring 5 points three times and 4 points once, which propelled her into the top 4. In the critical medal-deciding series, Vinh only managed two standard shots, accumulating 30 points. She finished behind Esha Singh (31 points), and Kim Hyon-suk and Xiao Jiaruixuan (both 32 points).

The competition intensified with two subsequent shootouts. Kim Hyon-suk and Esha Singh both scored 34 points, necessitating four penalty shootouts to determine the winner. Singh ultimately prevailed, advancing to compete for the gold medal against Xiao Jiaruixuan. In the gold medal match, Singh again matched her opponent with 38 points but was defeated by the Chinese shooter in a decisive shootout.

This gold medal marked China's 15th in shooting at ASIAD 2026. Other nations securing shooting gold medals included Qatar (2), and India, South Korea, Japan, and Uzbekistan (one each).

Vietnam's shooting team also earned one bronze medal in the women's 10m air pistol team event, secured by Bui Thi Thu Thuy, Trinh Thu Vinh, and Nguyen Thuy Trang. In the individual 10m air pistol, Trinh Thu Vinh placed 11th in the qualification round, missing out on the final. She and Pham Quang Huy also finished 6th in the qualification for the mixed 10m air pistol event.

Vietnamese shooters are set to compete in the men's 25m pistol event, with Vu Tien Nam, Pham Quang Huy, and Ha Minh Thanh scheduled to participate on 30/9 and 1/10.

Hieu Luong