Vietnam won the gold medal in the men’s 25m rapid fire pistol event at the Asian Rifle/Pistol Cup 2025 in Bangkok on Tuesday, marking its first-ever such historic achievement in Asian competitions.

According to the rules of the International Shooting Sport Federation, the men’s 25m rapid fire pistol event’s qualifying round consists of two stages. 

In each stage, shooters perform three rapid series, with times of eight, six, and four seconds. 

Each series includes two relays, with five shots per relay.

In the individual final, the top six shooters from the qualifying round compete in five-shot relays. 

Starting from the fourth relay, the shooter with the lowest total score is eliminated after each relay until the gold medalist is determined.

Eventually, the four male shooters of the Vietnamese team -- Ha Minh Thanh, Pham Quang Huy, Vu Tien Nam, and Tran Cong Hieu -- won the team gold medal with a total score of 1727-53x.

The Japanese team claimed the silver medal with a score of 1714-33x, while the Indonesian team took the bronze medal.

This marks the first time the Vietnamese shooting team has won a gold medal in the men’s 25m rapid fire pistol event at the Asian level.

Ha Minh Thanh and Pham Quang Huy also qualified for the individual final, securing spots as two of the top six shooters in the qualifying round.

In the individual competition, both Thanh and Huy faced a challenging start, each scoring just one point in their first five-shot relay.

This result led to Quang Huy’s elimination after the fourth relay. 

Meanwhile, Minh Thanh continued to perform well, scoring higher in subsequent relays. 

By the sixth relay, he had advanced to the medal contention group.

In the seventh relay, despite scoring the maximum of five points, Minh Thanh’s total score of 25 was lower than the 26 points of Japan’s Chiryukin Nikita and the 27 points of South Korea’s Yoon Seo Yeong.

Ultimately, Thanh secured the bronze medal, Chiryukin Nikita took silver, and Yoon Seo Yeong won the gold medal.

The Asian Rifle/Pistol Cup 2025 Bangkok is being held from February 9 to 22 in Thailand, with 319 athletes from 24 countries and territories. 

Notably, two powerful teams, China and India, are absent from the competition.

The Vietnamese shooting team is participating with 18 shooters in the tournament, which marks their first international competition of 2025. 

Key international events this year include the 16th Asian Shooting Championship in Kazakhstan in August, the ISSF World Championship Rifle/Pistol in Egypt in November, and the 33rd Southeast Asian Games in Thailand in December.

In the coming days, the Vietnamese shooters will continue competing in the 50m rifle 3 positions and 25m standard sport pistol events.

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