When it comes to the Olympics, air pistol matches aren't that much talked about. But that changed when Yusuf Dikec and Kim Yeji arrived in Paris 2024 and took the world by storm.
Air pistol shooters Yusuf Dikec and Kim Yeji came to Paris 2024 expecting nothing but success.
They did more than that.
The 'South Korean sci-fi assasin' in Yeji and the hands-in-pocket Dikec have made headlines for their distinctive styles and glorified performances in the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
Yeji, the 31-year-old sharpshooter, nabbed silver in the 10-meter air pistol event but what captured the world is her unbothered aura and effortless confidence while competing.
Her 19-year-old teammate Oh Ye Jin took the gold and their 1-2 finish reflects South Korea’s strength in shooting, with the country taking home medals in the event at every edition of the Olympics since 2000
While Kim’s Paris 2024 performance has won her new fans, it is a resurfaced video clip from the International Shooting Sport Federation World Cup last May that gone viral.
Spoiler alert: She went on to break the world record in the process.
In the video, Kim wears a backwards cap over her blunt bob, her steely gaze fixed on the target through a pair of shooting glasses — a piece of specialist eyewear that helps athletes focus on the target but also looks like something out of a science-fiction movie.
Her arm extended and head tilted down, she fires and barely reacts as it emerges she has set a new world record before flipping up her glasses’ lens to stare directly at the camera before glancing impassively at the nearby screen.
A first-time Olympian, Kim will next compete in the qualifying rounds of the 25-meter event later.
Meanwhile, Dikec didn't need much but his legendary aura to win silver, alongside partner Sevval Ilayda Tarhan, in the mixed team 10-meter air pistol event in Paris 2024.
Despite finishing as runners-up, it marked as a historic one since it gave Turkey their first-ever medal in Olympic shooting. Mikec and Zorana Arunovic won gold for Serbia while India’s Manu Bhaker and Sarabjot Singh copped bronze.
And it did not stop there for Dikec, who made headlines for his nonchalant, pared-down approach to the sport.
The marksman wore standard glasses, a team T-shirt and had his left hand casually slung in his pocket as other than his pistol, the 51-year-old notably had none of the specialized equipment used by athletes in the hyper-precise event like headphones, special lenses, or a hat.
This was Dikec's fifth Olympic appearance, first appearing back in the Beijing 2008 Olympics.
With some of the greatest players across all sports present in Paris, who would have thought that pistol shooters would be the talk of the town?