India shines in Shotgun World Cup; Mairaj Ahmad Khan, Ganemat Sekhon Clinches Gold
Indian pair defeated the Mexican pair of Luis Raul Gallardo Oliveros and Gabriela Rodríguez 6-0
New Delhi: Mairaj Ahmad Khan and youth Ganemat Sekhon have brought laurels to India by winning the gold medal in the skeet mixed team event at the International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) World Cup Shotgun being played in Egypt. With this, India got its first medal in the World Championship. The Indian pair defeated the Mexican pair of Luis Raul Gallardo Oliveros and Gabriela Rodríguez 6-0 in the match.
Italy won the bronze through the pairing of two-time World Championship silver medalist Simona Scoschetti and Rio Olympic champion Gabriele Rossetti. Mairaj, who won his fifth ISSF medal, shot 74 out of 75 in the qualification round of 30 teams.
The Indian pair shot a combined score of 143 out of 150 in the tie to beat Mexico 4-3 in the shoot-off to reach the finals on top. Mairaj took a 2.0 lead in the deciding period. He also scored an impressive 4 runs in the second series. In the previous series, Mairaj missed two targets and Ganemat Sekhon missed one, while the Mexican pair missed all four targets. With this India made it 4-0.
After the victory, Mairaj said, “I was very confident when I started. We knew from the beginning of the day that we would win the gold medal. We are preparing for the Paris Olympics."