Pakistan Olympic Association

KARACHI: Pakistani shooters will be making their last ditch effort to make a cut for the Olympics when they appear in the 12th Asian Shooting Championship to be held in Doha from January 11-22.

As many as eight shooters have been picked for the event, which serves as qualifiers for the London Olympics to be held in August this year. An official of the National Rifle Association of Pakistan (NRAP) said on Sunday that Khurram Inam, Abdul Sattar Satti, Usman Sadiq, Col Asad, Col Fakhar, Ayza Tahir, Mehwish and Meshal Munir are the marksmen who will be using their skills in the slots which are the toughest in the world because of the leading role of Asia in the sport. “Shooting is a game in which you cannot predict. It depends on the shooters how much they focus on their job during the competition. But I can say that the shooters we have picked are talented and experienced and they have a chance to earn Olympic berths,” NRAP Vice President Razi Ahmad Khan told ‘The News’. “Asia is the toughest region in the shooting sport but our players have the guts to spring surprise,” said Razi, who will be acting as jury member of the shotgun during the spectacle.

Three-time Olympian Khurram Inam and Abdul Sattar will be testing their skills in the skeet, Usman Sadiq, Col Asad and Col Fakhar will be representing the country in trap event, Ayza Tahir in rifle shooting and Mehwish and Meshal Munir in pistol event.

These shooters are undergoing tough training in Islamabad and Karachi. No official will be going with the squad. Razi said that Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) is extending its support to the NRAP in its quest to send its shooters to Doha.

“You know, shooting is an expensive sport but we are thankful to the PSB who is partially supporting us in our mission to make the participation of our shooters in the Asian Championship possible,” the official said.

It is pertinent to mention here that the country’s star shooter Khurram Inam and trap specialist Usman Sadiq achieved the Minimum Qualification Score (MQS) during the World Shooting Championship in Munich in 2010. Meshal Munir did the same in the 2010 Asian Games. Abeera Yaqoob attained this target in the Asian Juniors Air Rifle Championship held a couple of months back in Kuwait. The feat will keep them alive for contesting for an Olympic berth if they fail to get any quota through the continental event.