GM Bashir misses out on Asian Shooting Championship 25m rapid fire pistol finals

Pakistan's disappointing run in Asian Shooting Championship continued as the country’s only hope and the world bronze medallist Ghulam Mustafa Bashir failed to qualify for the finals of the 25 metre rapid fire pistol event in Shymkent, Kazakhstan.

Bashir, the three-time Olympian, posted a total score of 574-18X, finishing 15th out of 31 shooters in the qualification round. In the first stage, he shot 289 with series scores of 99, 98 and 92. In the second stage, he managed 285 with scores of 96, 97 and 92.

“There was a lack of proper training for this event as we were not allowed to import ammunition,” a senior official of the National Rifle Association of Pakistan (NRAP) Razi Ahmed told Nukta.

“Overall, our performance in this event is not satisfactory. We did well in areas where we had adequate equipment and struggled where we lacked proper resources,” Razi added.

In the same event, Maqbool Tabassum finished 30th with a score of 549-12X.

In skeet, Imam Haroon ranked 36th out of 46 shooters with a score of 108, while Shameil Khan finished 40.^th

In the trap event, Col Farrukh Nadeem also failed to reach the finals, finishing 29th among 47 participants.

Women’s event

In the women’s 25-metre pistol qualification Asian Games bronze medallist Kishmala Talat also struggled, finishing 21st out of 43 with a score of 572-14X. Rasam Gul followed closely in 23rd with 571-12X, and Rabia Kabir placed 34th with 565-18X.

Earlier in the championship, Kishmala narrowly missed a finals berth in the 10-metre air pistol event, finishing 11^th out of 51 shooters.

In the same 10m air pistol event, Pakistan’s Rasam Gul ended 41st with a score of 559-11X, while Rabia Kabir was 44th with 553-4X.

Other events

The mixed 10m air pistol team of Kishmala and Gulfam Joseph also failed to make the final, finishing 14th out of 27 teams.

In the men’s skeet qualification, among 46 competitors, Shameil Khan and Imam Haroon both scored 85 to finish 39th and 40th, respectively. Zahid Tufail finished 45th with a total of 82.

In the 10m air pistol men's event, Olympian Gulfam Joseph, part of Pakistan’s Paris Olympics contingent, also missed out on a finals spot. He placed 18th out of 48 shooters with a score of 577-22X (96, 99, 95, 98, 95, 94).

Shazaib Ahmed, also competing in the same event, finished 34th with a total of 569-13X (93, 96, 95, 97, 94, 94).