Pak shooters hope to make good start today

ISLAMABAD: Two of Pakistan’s leading shooters, Ghulam Mustafa Bashir and Khalil Akhtar, will be seen in action in the 25m rapid pistol fire competition starting from Sunday (today) at the Asaka Range Tokyo.

The eagerly awaited event of the Tokyo Olympics will see top 27 shooters from around the world bidding to qualify for the finals. The first day will see all the shooters firing 30 shots each during the first round of competition.

Then 30 shots will be fired early Monday morning. At the end of 60 shots, the six best shooters will qualify for the final which will be held Monday afternoon.

Both Pakistani shooters who are direct qualifiers say they are confident to make it to the six top shooters. “Our first effort will be to be among the top six positions and hence a last go at the medals. A good start is all we are looking at. Once we achieve that we will be in a position to retain that tempo going into the final round,” Ghulam Mustafa Bashir told ‘The News’ in a recent interview.

He requested all his countrymen to pray for them.

“We have reached this position following considerable hard work. Now we need prayers for us to make the best of the opportunity. Majority of the shooters are those who directly qualified for the Olympics. All are good enough to pose a challenge to each other,” he added.

Mustafa and Khalil had a second session at the Range Saturday. They availed themselves of the facilities at the venue for around half an hour for the second consecutive day.