In the final of the ISSF World Cup Rifle/Pistol/Shotgun at Changwon, Korea on July 18, Mairaj Ahmad Khan, a two-time Olympian and India’s shining Skeet shooting star, shot 37 out of a possible 40 hits to win the nation’s first-ever individual gold in the competition. In the men’s skeet, the top shooter from Khurja first shot 119/125 over two qualifying days before winning a five-way shoot-off.
With two more days of competition remaining, his efforts helped India maintain its lead in the medal standings with five gold, five silver, and three bronze awards. Anjum Moudgil, Sift Kaur Samra, and Ashi Chouksey, the women’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions (3P) team from India, defeated Austria for the bronze medal 16-06 on July 18. But the seasoned Mairaj unquestionably owned the day. After placing 119th, he found himself competing for two last qualification berths alongside four other athletes, including Kuwaiti Abdullah Al Rashidi, a two-time Olympic medalist. Japan’s Shotaro Toguchi was assured a top-eight finish until he missed his eighth shoot-off attempt.
He played in another round of 30-targets in the ranking round against the likes of the Cypriot Nicolas Vasilou, the German Sven Korte, and the Korean Minki Cho. He won the round with 27 hits, and Sven finished second with 25 hits to advance to the medal round.
In the 40-shot medal round, Mairaj missed just three targets for 37 hits, defeating Korean Minsu Kim, who shot down 36 targets, to win the competition.
In a different event, Anish and Sameer failed to clear the first hurdle, while Vijayveer Sidhu in the Men’s 25m Rapid Fire Pistol made it to the ranking round but did not advance to the medal rounds. In qualifying, Vijayveer shot 584 to place sixth, Anish shot 582 to place 12th, and Sameer shot 566 to place 30th. In the Women’s Skeet, Mufaddal Deesawala placed 23rd with shooting a total of 108.
Early life of Mairaj Ahmad Khan
Mairaj was born into a wealthy Khurja-based Sunni landlord family from the Kheshgi family. Khurja is located in Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahr district. After graduating from college in 1998, he began shooting. Through his uncle, he was introduced to shooting. He eventually made it his profession.
Now, Mairaj is focusing on the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. “I participated in the Olympics in Rio and Tokyo, and now I’m working hard to prepare for Paris with the hopes of bringing home medals this time. But I also hope that businesses step up to support athletes in this sport. Because it is such a costly sport, not everyone can participate in shooting. If business organisations and the government encourage amateur shooters, it will be really good for the sport.
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The Chenab Times News Desk
