NEW DELHI: Indian skeet shooter Mairaj Ahmad Khan believes India’s historic run of three medals in skeet at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games has created a strong platform for the Los Angeles Olympics. Mairaj, who was part of the men’s skeet team that won bronze, felt India could have done better and believed the team had a chance to win gold.India won medals in all three skeet team events over two days, with the men’s team, women’s team and mixed team all finishing on the podium.For Mairaj, the men’s team bronze was his first Asian Games medal. He had previously competed at the Asian Games in 2006, 2010 and 2014 before returning to the continental event in 2026.Mairaj already has three World Cup gold medals – in New Delhi in 2021, Changwon in 2022 and Cairo in 2023. He also has a silver from Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and a bronze from Cairo in 2021.Apart from this, he has one gold, two silver and three bronze medals at the Asian Championships.Looking back at his individual performance at the Asian Games, Mairaj felt tiredness also played a role.“In the individual event, hunger was not there. I think I was a little tired. I was relaxed, mentally tired, overworked. Maybe the calendar is so busy,” Mairaj told TimesofIndia.com from Japan.Mairaj felt the team could have finished with gold but said there would be more opportunities to improve, with the World Championships and Asian Championships coming up.“Aur achha ho sakta tha. We could have won gold medal. The stage was set but no propblem, next time,” Mairaj said about the team’s bronze medal finish.
Proud of Anantjeet and Parinaaz
Mairaj was particularly pleased with the performances of Anantjeet and Parinaaz in the mixed team event. He said he was proud of the way the two shooters performed and saw their medal as part of a bigger process.The men’s skeet team of Anantjeet Singh Naruka, Mairaj and Bhavtegh Singh Gill won bronze on Wednesday. The trio finished with 346 points and then prevailed over Kazakhstan in a shoot-off to secure third place.Later that day, Raiza Dhillon, Parinaaz Dhaliwal and Maheshwari Chauhan also won bronze in the women’s team event, giving India its first-ever Asian Games medal in women’s skeet.On Thursday, Anantjeet and Parinaaz added another bronze in the mixed team event, giving Indian skeet medals in all three team events.“I am really proud of the way Anant and Parinaaz have performed. We are building a team together for LA Olympics,” he said.
‘I will not stop’
Mairaj was clear that the Asian Games medals are not the end of the journey.He said his focus remains on improving and continuing the fight for the Los Angeles Olympics. The dream of winning gold, he said, has not changed.“I will not stop. Ever since I picked up the gun, I have felt that I could have done better. I have made some mistakes,” he said.“The fight is on for the LA Olympics. Gold was the dream and it will remain the dream,” Mairaj said.
