Veteran Mairaj Ahmad Khan Targets First Asian Games Medal, Predicts Big Rise For Indian Shooting
At 50, Mairaj Ahmad Khan is still chasing his first Asian Games medal, but the veteran skeet shooter is equally excited about what lies ahead for Indian shooting, predicting the country will have "the best team" across trap, skeet, rifle and pistol over the next four years.
At 50, Mairaj Ahmad Khan is still chasing his first Asian Games medal, but the veteran skeet shooter is equally excited about what lies ahead for Indian shooting, predicting the country will have "the best team" across trap, skeet, rifle and pistol over the next four years. Mairaj believes Indian shooting is poised for a big rise, crediting government-backed programmes such as Khelo India for creating a stronger pathway for the next generation of athletes. Mairaj, who is part of India's 12-member shotgun preparatory camp for the Asian Games in Japan, will be making his third appearance at the continental event.
"Every athlete expects to win. But as far as I believe, if you go into a competition with fewer expectations, it is better for you," Mairaj told SAI Media.
"Because, if you go with expectations, you are already in the future; you are not in the present. You have to focus on what you need to do at that very particular moment." Mairaj, who began his shooting journey in 1994, became the first Indian skeet shooter to qualify for the Olympics when he competed at Rio 2016. He has since represented India at two Olympics and remained a mainstay of the country's shotgun shooting setup.
The veteran is currently training alongside five other skeet shooters and six trap shooters at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range here as part of a 15-day preparatory camp that runs until September 14.
The shotgun events at the Asian Games are scheduled to begin on September 21 at the Aichi Prefectural General Shooting Gallery in Toyota City, Japan.
Mairaj is pleased with the support system in place ahead of the Games, including strength and conditioning coaches, physiotherapists and foreign coach Riccardo Filippelli, besides head coach Amrinder Singh Cheema.
"We are preparing very well for the Asian Games. There is a whole team here at our shotgun camp at the Dr Karni Singh Range (KSSR)," he said.
"SAI has arranged everything for us — we have S&C coaches, physios, our foreign coach Riccardo Filippelli, our head coach Amrinder Singh Cheema, and all other staff, are here.
"I think it is a very useful camp for the preparation, and it will work, Inshallah, at the Asian Games." Mairaj, who has competed at the highest level for more than three decades, also sees a bright future for Indian shooting, particularly in the shotgun disciplines.
"I think skeet and trap, if we talk about shotgun, both have come up very well, and in the coming time it will become even better," he said.
He believes the government's focus on grassroots programmes has given the country a platform that was missing when he began his career.
"The platforms that the Indian government, the Sports Ministry and SAI have created at this moment, programs and platforms such as Khelo India, are going to be very important for the coming generation," Mairaj said.
"Unfortunately, we didn't have all these programmes in our time, so maybe we lost a little time in winning Olympic or World Cup medals.
"But in the coming time, the platform will be very big for the Indian team, and I think the Indian team will be the best team in the coming four years — in trap, skeet and also rifle and pistol." Mairaj cited Neeru Dhanda, who recently won a historic trap gold at the ISSF Shotgun World Cup in Lonato, as an example of the impact of the Khelo India programme. Dhanda was also part of the Bhopal academy.Â
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