IOC scholarships boost Pakistani shooters' chances for 2028 LA Olympics

National Rifle Association of Pakistan (NRAP) has expressed optimism that the recently awarded International Olympic Committee (IOC) scholarships will significantly enhance the chances of Pakistani shooters qualifying for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.

Razi Ahmed Khan, a senior NRAP official, told Nukta in a detailed interaction that this support could prove vital in the preparation and qualification efforts of the country’s top marksmen and women.

“We had also got IOC scholarship last time and due to that three of our shooters had qualified for the Paris Olympics. And this time too we are thinking that at least four of our shooters should qualify for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics,” Razi told this correspondent.

As many as five shooters have been awarded IOC scholarships, which is a significant boost for the athletes, covering most of their needs on the road to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

The qualifying rounds for the Los Angeles Games will begin next year.

“You know it can be spent on training as well. You know they are provided with training in which foreign coaches are also involved so it’s one part is to spend from it on training. And the most important sector is participation in international circuit so that you could get exposure and cost of one event per person is around Rs800,000. We want that they should get more exposure and they also have to feature in the Olympics qualifying rounds,” the official said.

'Decent amount'

Asked about the allocation of around 40,000 US dollars to each player over the next three-year cycle through the scholarship, Razi said: “Obviously it’s a decent amount.”

Speaking about Rabia Kabir’s Olympic prospects Razi said a special training program has been designed for her to help her achieve excellence.

“We will groom her further so that she could also deliver as Kishmala Talat is performing in international circuit,” Razi said.

The country’s ace shooter, Ghulam Mustafa Bashir, has not been awarded a scholarship this time as he has availed it twice before. Bashir, who also has to his credit a bronze medal in the World Championship, has already represented Pakistan in the last three Olympics and aims to qualify once again for the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

“Yes, inshaAllah I am working hard to do it again,” Bashir told Nukta.

Pakistan’s top shooters including Col Farrukh Nadeem, Imam Haroon, Sulaiman Khan, Kishmala Talat and Rabia Kabir have received IOC scholarships this time.

This is the second consecutive time that the 2023 Asian Games bronze medalist Kishmala has been awarded the scholarship while the other four athletes have received it for the first time.

A shooter who had previously availed the scholarship acknowledged the significance of this support from the world’s sports governing body (IOC).

“It’s extremely important and it gives an athlete an added boost in covering his or her expenses on road to Olympics,” the shooter told Nukta.

“An athlete may add to his diet menu, get equipment when he finds himself in a hapless position with no outside support and it may also contribute to his exposure and training expenses,” the shooter said.

It’s a major development for shooting that five out of the eight Pakistani athletes awarded scholarships are shooters.

The other three athletes who have received scholarships are Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem, table tennis player Haiqa Hasan and taekwondo fighter Fateemaah Tuz Zahra.

Each athlete will receive 1,125 US dollars per month for the next 36 months.

Notable miss from the scholarship list this time are two of the country’s top weightlifters, Nooh Dastgir Butt and Talha Talib, as well as France-based eventer Usman Khan, athletes who are 2028 Los Angeles Games medals hopefuls and were in dire need of this support.