KARACHI: Pakistan’s Khurram Inam on Monday paid the price for a poor start and is now unlikely to qualify for the men’s skeet finals at London 2012 shooting events.
Unable to cope with the windswept range at the Royal Artillery Barracks in London, Khurram finished with 67/75 after the first three rounds of the skeet qualifying rounds at the Olympic Games.
He made a below-par start by shooting 21 and followed the score with two rounds of 23 to finish at 67, eight points behind leader Vincent Hancock — the reigning world champion from the United States.
“It was quite windy today and my start wasn’t an ideal one,” said Khurram, who is featuring in his third Olympics after having represented Pakistan at Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004.
“I had my chances and could have shot 25 in the third round but there luck wasn’t on my side,” he told ‘The News’ from London soon after his qualifying round. “My score could have been much better.”
Khurram, 45, will compete in two more rounds in the qualification stage alongside 35 other skeet shooters on Tuesday (today).
Monday’s below-par showing means that Khurram won’t be able to equal or better his personal best score of 119 achieved at Sydney 2000. Even a perfect score of 50 in the last two rounds would give him a total score of 117 which is unlikely to give him a place in the top-six. Only the top six shooters would progress to the medals round.
Khurram was not the only shooter to have missed his targets on the opening day. Even top contenders like UAE’s Saeed Almaktoum were unable to impress much on the opening day of the two-day event. Almaktoum, regarded among the leading skeet shooters in the world, finished with 70.
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LONDON: UAE’s Saeed Almaktoum blows into his rifle during the skeet men’s qualification round during the 2012 Olympic Games here on Monday
