Tokyo Olympics: Distracted by jacket's undone button, shooter shoots opponent's target 

TOKYO: The world number two Serhiy Kulish blamed himself as he left the Asaka Shooting Range after making one of the most serious mistakes of the shooting an opponent's target at the Tokyo Olympics.

The Ukrainian shooter sailed into Monday's final of the men's 50-meter rifle 3 positions event, aiming a second Olympic medal to add to his silver in the 10m air rifle event five years ago in Rio.

“I was a little uncomfortable because the button on my jacket had come undone but time passed and I needed to make a shot, so I didn't see that I was already going at someone else's target", said.

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Eventual winner Zhang Changhong of China led the eight-shooter group for much of the final, Kulish was hanging around the medal bracket after 30 shots in fourth position.

His nightmare began in the seventh series, when he fired at a competitor's target, and he was quickly eliminated as the first of the eight shooters after his 35th shot was ruled worthless.

Here's what Serhiy Kulish said in Tokyo Olympics;

"I shot into someone else's objectives," Kulish fumed.

"I am dissatisfied. Who shoots at another person's target? Only folks who are similar to me", he added.

It was a major setback for the Cherkasy shooter, who had had limited training opportunities leading up to the Tokyo Olympics.

"It's a problem that we don't have a shooting range. We have to train in another country, which is an issue. For the time being, there is no option "he stated.

"My city has a shooting range, but it only has five targets, so competitions are impossible to hold there."

"There is no venue to hold competitions; there is no place to develop new athletes, which is a concern," Kulish continued.