“If I win a gold medal, I want recognition and a reward vacation,” says military shooter Cho Cho-ah
“If I win a gold medal…I would like to receive a commendation and a reward vacation.”
This is what Cho, who is competing in the trap event at the Hangzhou Asian Games, told reporters on Friday at the national shooting media day at the Changwon International Shooting Range in Gyeongnam.
Cho is an active-duty soldier who entered training in January 2019 and was commissioned in May of the same year.
“Even before I started shooting, I liked the job of a soldier, and after shooting, I dreamed of being a soldier,” said Cho, who will be promoted to sergeant at the end of this year. “There was also a commerce team, so I wanted to join.”
She describes her skills as “hardened” since joining the team.
This is because the environment is well-equipped to focus on training.
The support for athletes is also solid.
“We have as much access to live ammunition as the unemployed team,” she said, adding, “While the other unemployed team members share a shooting range, we use the Mungyeong Shooting Range in Gyeongbuk Province as our own, so I think our shooting records and mindset have improved.”
Although she focuses on her workouts, she doesn’t miss out on her military duties.
“We don’t do overnight guard duty like other units, but we attend all the on-call duties and monthly trainings, and we also go to trainings held by forward units,” she explains.
Last winter, she marched at night while wearing a 30-kilogram army cap, and regularly trains to shoot K2 rifles. “As a shotgun player, rifles don’t work well with me,” she says with an embarrassed laugh.
“I want to continue my military service as a regular soldier after I finish my athletic career,” says Cho, who has realized both her dreams of being a soldier and a shooter.
Shooting trap involves hitting a flying disk with a shotgun.
“The appeal of trap is the tension that comes from the unpredictability of the situation, where you don’t know if the disk is going to go left or right,” explains Cho.
“In trap, you can’t think too much. Just like the name trap (trap-trap), it seems that trap is a sport where you end up getting caught in the trap of your thoughts,” he said, adding, “Rather, when you are fully immersed and shoot instinctively, your record is better.”
With the Asian Games around three weeks away, Choi said she is excited but also feeling more pressure.
“If we shoot well together, it’s good, but if I make a mistake, I’ll feel very sorry for myself,” she said, adding that she was worried that she might miss out on a medal in the team competition.
“I don’t really prepare for the Asian Games. I think if you do something extra just because it’s a big competition, you might make it harder on yourself,” she said, adding, “I’ll treat it as a normal competition and train hard and prepare the same as usual.”
“If I win a gold medal at the Asian Games, I would like to receive recognition and a reward vacation,” he smiled.
“Sergeant” Bae Sang-hee is also an active military member who joined the organization 10 years ago.
The fact that the facility is fully equipped for shooters and that they can learn professionally from high-level managers and coaches was an advantage.
“After joining the organization, my record improved significantly,” says Bae, “and after about four years of training at the organization, I started to be selected for the national team 바카라사이트.”
In the three rifle positions, shooters compete for points by firing 20 rounds each from standing still, kneeling, and boksa, which involves lying face down on the ground.
“The beauty of the three rifle positions is that the score goes up and down depending on the position,” said Bae. “My body rhythm changes slightly depending on the time of year, but right now I’m confident in the standing and shooting positions.”
“I have more international experience than before, so I’m definitely aiming for gold this time around,” said Bae, who finished sixth in the final at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games.