Now Reading: Mairaj Ahmad Khan targets LA 2028 at age 51
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Mairaj Ahmad Khan targets LA 2028 at age 51
Mairaj Ahmad Khan, India's first skeet shooter to qualify for the Olympics, has set his sights on the 2028 Los Angeles Games despite missing out on Paris 2024. At 51, the veteran…
Mairaj Ahmad Khan, India's first skeet shooter to qualify for the Olympics, has set his sights on the 2028 Los Angeles Games despite missing out on Paris 2024. At 51, the veteran shooter says his longevity secret is staying present and taking 'one target at a time.'
Mairaj began as a rifle shooter in the under-12 category before switching to shotgun in 1994 and specialising in skeet in 2000. He made his Olympic debut at Rio 2016 and competed at Tokyo 2020. In 2016 he became the first Indian skeet shooter to win a World Cup medal (silver), and in 2022 he won India's first individual ISSF World Cup gold in men's skeet. That gold came after he considered quitting due to his father's death, the pandemic and loss of sponsorship. He invested his own money to return. Now, with the Asian Games ahead, he refuses to make medal predictions but says he will give his best.
Indian Opinion Analysis
Mairaj's career spans a period when Indian shooting infrastructure grew substantially, yet skeet remains a niche discipline compared to rifle and pistol events, which have delivered most of India's Olympic medals. The Tokyo 2020 Olympics saw India field only two skeet shooters, Mairaj was one of them. To qualify for LA 2028, he will need to earn quota places through ISSF World Championships or Asian Championships, a demanding process for a 55-year-old in a sport where reflexes decline with age. The National Rifle Association of India awards central funding to quota winners, but beyond that, shooters largely rely on personal sponsorship and state support. Mairaj's self-funded return in 2022 shows the financial uncertainty many Indian shooters face outside the top tier. The Asian Games, scheduled for 2026, will be his immediate benchmark.
Source: sportstar.thehindu.com
This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
