IOC didn’t give wild card in skeet: NRAP

KARACHI: Skeet was the first choice for National Rifle Association of Pakistan (NRAP) for Rio Olympics and they applied for the wild card as well but the association’s efforts did not bear fruit.

“We sent the names of three male shooters to International Olympic Committee (IOC) for allocation of quota places for Rio Olympics,” said NRAP secretary Javed Lodhi while talking to ‘The News’.

He added that they had sent the names of Usman Chand, Ghulam Mustafa Bashir and one other male athlete. They also sent the names of Mehwish and Minhal Suhail. It is to be noted here that 17 shooters of the country achieved minimum qualifying score (MQS), a pre-requisite for Olympics participation.

Javed added that the IOC did not consider skeet and gave quota places in rapid fire pistol and air rifle categories. “We then applied for wild card for Usman but International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) refused on the grounds that we had already got two quota places,” said Javed.  The NRAP secretary added that Bashir and Usman were very talented shooters of the country and had performed well despite very low exposure. “They both have played only four or five international events, yet they are brilliant,” said Javed.

He said the Belarusian coach of Bashir had transformed him. “The day we got these quota places we issued a new contract to the Belarusian coach for a few months so that he could better train Bashir, world number 38, for Olympics,” added Javed.

Meanwhile, Pakistan stood 22nd in Asia due to 17 MQSs. Interestingly, the country’s star skeet shooter Khurrum Inam, who represented Pakistan at the last three Olympics, failed to manage MQS this time. A MQS could only be achieved in elimination or qualification rounds of Olympic events in World Championships, World Cups, World Cup Finals, Continental Championships, Continental Games or special designated Qualifying Competitions that took place between August 1, 2014, and March 31, 2016.