Pak shooters preparing for 2022 Asian Games

KARACHI: Pakistan shooters are preparing hard for 2022 Asian Games, which are scheduled in China in 2022, National Rifle Association of Pakistan (NRAP) secretary Razi Ahmed told ‘The News’.

“Asian Games are the toughest competition for shooters as almost all top shooters in the world belong to this region,” Razi said. “This is why we consider it an achievement if our shooters perform well in the Asian Games,” he added.

He said that they are seriously preparing for the 2022 edition. “We are working in two phases. In the first phase, we are picking talented juniors and preparing them for this most competitive event.

“In the second phase, we are to send the said juniors and seniors to different international events where they can easily win,” said Razi.

He added that this would boost up their confidence so that they would be able to perform better in tough competitive environment.

Pakistan’s shotgun shooters have improved their performance in Asian Games in recent years, according to Asian Shooting Confederation (ASC), which recently released the performance record for shotgun events at the Asian Games from 1954 to 2018.

In the 2006 edition in Qatar, Amin Karamat got 7th position with 121 points in skeet event. He was the only Pakistani shooter finishing among top eight.

In the 2018 edition, Aamer Iqbal achieved 8th position with 134 points in the double trap event. Usman Chand finished fifth with 143 points in skeet event.