Tokyo: The Indian shooting team had been struggling to collect a medal at the ongoing Tokyo Olympics. Yet another time on Monday, Angad Vir Singh Bajwa and Mairaj Ahmad Khan saw their medals hopes up in smoke after they failed to make the men’s skeet event final round.
After the Day 1 qualification round, Bajwa finished in the 11th spot placing him in contention for the top six who will qualify for the final. But on Monday he was unable to maintain his composure long enough to clear the final hurdle. Khan, on the other hand, did not have a great outing over the two days, spending most of his time luring in the bottom half of the table.
In the final two series on Monday, Bajwa increased his overnight tally to 47/50 and Khan could only manage 46/50 hits. After scoring 24 in the first series, Bajwa’s claim for a spot in the final was strengthened by a perfect second series. However, his efforts were undone by the fourth series when he missed two crucial shots to score a 23. Bajwa’s five-series breakdown was 24, 25, 24, 23, 24.
On the other hand, veteran Khan could not pull it off that well despite his experience. He scored 117/125 targets, a massive letdown. His precise breakdown is 25, 24, 22, 23, 23. With the departure of Bajwa and Khan, the wait for an Olympic medal in shotgun got extended for another three years.
