Choi Ye-in, a student at Juyup High School, will receive a 'Fairness Medal' from the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) after she was unable to compete in the 2026 World Shooting Championships in Doha due to an administrative error by the Korea Shooting Federation.
According to the Korea Shooting Federation, Choi was scheduled to participate in the women's 10m air rifle event on November 3 (local time) at the Lusail Shooting Range in Qatar. However, she could not compete due to a failure to register her information.
The federation suspects that the athlete's information was entered into the ISSF online registration system but not saved. A late request for additional registration was made on-site, but it was not accepted as the participant list had already been finalized.
This registration error also resulted in the cancellation of the women's 10m air rifle team event. The team event requires three athletes from each country to compete, and Choi's absence meant the team could not meet the minimum participant requirement.
Consequently, her teammates Ban Hyo-jin (Daegu Public Facilities Management Corporation) and Kwon Eun-ji (Uljin County Office) were also unable to compete in the team event. This championship was the first event with Olympic quotas for the 2028 Los Angeles Games at stake.
The ISSF has decided to award Choi the Fairness Medal along with a letter of consolation from President Luciano Rossi. The Qatar Shooting Federation will also present honorary gold medals to Choi, Ban, and Kwon. Additionally, Choi will receive a letter from the president of the Qatar Shooting Federation, a participation certificate, and a commemorative coin.
The ISSF plans to improve its registration system. Alessandro Nicotra di San Giacomo, the ISSF Secretary General, stated that they are investigating the entire system, including log records, during a meeting with the Korea Shooting Federation, and promised improvements to prevent a recurrence.
The Korea Shooting Federation has decided to take responsibility for the failure of the athletes to compete in the team event and will award a total of 25 million won, applying the gold medal standard for the World Championships: 20 million won for the three athletes and 5 million won for the coach.
A personnel committee regarding the staff responsible for this incident will convene on November 13.
Kang Yeon-soo, president of the Korea Shooting Federation, expressed deep apologies to Choi, her family, and shooting fans for the federation's mistake that prevented Choi from competing on a stage she had prepared for with great effort. He also thanked the ISSF and Qatar Shooting Federation for their warm support, stating, "We will strengthen our international operations by hiring experienced professionals and enhancing our administrative system to ensure this does not happen again."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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