Shooters Mairaj Ahmad Khan and Ganemat Sekhon won India its first medal in the ongoing International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) Shotgun World Cup, winning the gold medal by defeating Mexicans Luis Raul Gallardo Oliveros and Gabriela Rodriguez 6-0 in the skeet mixed team event on Sunday (April 30) in Egypt. It was a second gold medal win in mixed team event for young Indian shooter Ganemat Sekhon, also a fourth senior World Cup medal, while veteran shooter Mairaj secured his fifth senior ISSF medal after the gold medal win. Notably, Mairaj and Ganemat had drawn a blank in the individual skeet competitions.
The Indian pair shot a combined 143 out of 150 in the 30-team qualification round. Their opponents, the Mexicans too finished with a combined score of 143. In the decider, Mairaj made full use of his experience to attain perfect four hits as their opponents missed three birds, giving India an important 2-0 lead. Mairaj put Mexicans under pressure and India on top as he yet again hit a perfect four in the second series. Mexicans Luis Raul Gallardo Oliveros and Gabriela Rodriguez missed three as India pulled through 4-0. Things got a bit intense in the final series with Mairaj missing two targets and Ganemat one, but their opponents missed four in all as India finally clinched a historic gold with a dominating win.
“I was very confident when I started. We knew from the beginning of the day that we will win gold. We are preparing for the Paris Olympics,” said a confident Mairaj after the victory.
It was a second gold medal win for India yesterday as earlier star doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty broke a 58-year-old drought to become first Indians after Dinesh Khanna to be crowned champions at the Asia badminton Championships in Dubai.