By Kang Seung-woo

Shooter Jin Jong-oh bagged his second gold medal in the men’s 50-meter pistol at the London Olympics Sunday (KST), becoming the first South Korean athlete to successfully defend an individual Olympic title.

The 32-year-old, who claimed the nation’s first gold of the games in the 10-meter air pistol on July 28, scored 662 points in the final held at the Royal Artillery Barracks. It was a dramatic finish with Jin besting compatriot Choi Yong-rae ― the top qualifier who was leading by 1.6 points ― by just 0.5 points on his last shot in a come-from-behind victory. China's Wang Zhiwei was third with 658.6.

With the feat, he became the country’s second double gold medalist following woman archer Ki Bo-bae, who topped both the individual and team events last week.

Jin, who came into the final in fifth place with 562 points ― seven behind Choi ― took over second after the fourth series and gradually cut into his teammate’s lead down to the wire on the back of his best final-round performance among the pack. Jin was the only one to break the 100-point mark in the final round.

Jin hit 10.2 points, compared to a nervous Choi’s 8.1, to pull off an improbable repeat at the quadrennial event.

For the 30-year-old Choi, who has barely made an impact in the world’s shooting circle, the inconsistent display cost him gold.

Despite a three-point advantage from qualification, he got off to a sluggish start with 8.8 and 9.8 points; he scored 10 or more points only twice in the 10-shot gold-medal match including a low of 7.4.