Mairaj Khan places fourth in World Cup Final

Mairaj Ahmed Khan, who missed out on the knock-out phase in the Olympics in Rio, battled past two tie-shoots but missed a medal by a solitary bird in the end.

Mairaj had shot 121 out of 125 in the Olympics and had missed the gold in the Rio World Cup earlier in the season in a shoot-off.

Mairaj Ahmad Khan continued to fight in the big league and placed fourth in men’s skeet in the shooting World Cup Finals in Rome on Thursday.

The 40-year-old Mairaj who missed out on the knock-out phase in the Olympics in Rio, battled past two tie-shoots but missed a medal by a solitary bird in the end.

Mairaj had to first to win a shoot-off with two others after being tied on 118, for the last berth in the knock-out phase. The World Cup silver medallist Mairaj had shot perfect rounds of 25 in the last two rounds on the second day of competition after having shot 25, 21 on the first day that had put him at the bottom of 10-member elite field.

In the semifinals, the top four shot 15, and Mairaj was the third best in the shoot-off, that made him eligible for the bronze match. He was beaten 15-14 by Azy Mehelba of Egypt to the medal.

Two-time Olympic gold medallist and three-time World Champion Vincent Hancock of the US who had topped the qualification with a total of 121 missed the medal round as he shot 14 in the semifinals and placed fifth.

It may be recalled that Mairaj had shot 121 out of 125 in the Olympics and had missed the gold in the Rio World Cup earlier in the season in a shoot-off.

Jitu Rai had won the silver in free pistol and captured the Champion of Champions award for pistol in the World Cup Finals for rifle and pistol events in Rome recently.

Results

Men: Skeet: 1. Nikolay Teplyy (Rus) 16 (15)12 (119); 2. Mikola Milchev (Ukr) 13 (15)12 (119); 3. Azy Mehelba (Egy) 15 (15)3 (121); 4. Mairaj Ahmad Khan 14 (15)11 (118).