Olympian Mairaj Ahmad Khan shot 120 out of 125 and missed the men’s skeet final by two points in the shotgun World Cup in Larnaca, Cyprus, on Monday.
Mairaj, the silver medallist of the Rio World Cup last year, was on his way to the final, following rounds of 24, 25, 24 and 25, but missed three in the last round to finish 21st in a field of 94 shooters.
Despite missing an early bird in the fifth round, Mairaj was in control of the situation in tough windy conditions in the afternoon. But he missed two birds towards the end on station-4 which spoilt his chances in the high scoring contest.
"Wind was very strong and targets were all over. Could control till the end but dropped two targets on station four," said Mairaj.
Having shot 119 in the World Cup at home in Delhi at the start of the season, Mairaj felt that he was being consistent, especially in tough conditions.
"Coach Ennio Falco is happy as my average score continues to be good. It will help me in the future to go one or two targets up in average," said Mairaj, who had won the Asian Championship bronze last year.
He had also finished fourth in the World Cup Final last year in Rome, apart from shooting an impressive 121 for the ninth place in the Rio Olympics.
The young Angad Vir Singh Bajwa shot a series of 24, 24, 23, 23 and 24 for the 30th place with a total of 118. It was the same score he had shot for the seventh place in the Acapulco World Cup, and two better than the score that he had shot in Delhi, when he went on to clinch the bronze medal in a Grand Prix event.
Sheeraz Sheikh slipped to a total of 107 and the 81st spot, as he shot 22, 23, 21, 21 and 20.
Meanwhile, Wei Meng of China beat the six-time Olympic medallist and former World Champion Kimberly Rhode 54-52 for the women’s skeet gold.
The results:
Women’s skeet
1. Wei Meng (Chn) 54 (71) 13, 10; 2. Kimberly Rhode (US) 52 (73); 3. Sutiya Jewchaloemmit (Tha) 41 (71)21.
Comments
SHARE