Shooter Khalil Akhtar becomes first Pakistani to qualify for 2020 Olympics
Pakistan’s talented shooter Mohammad Khalil Akhtar has become the first from the country to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Pakistan’s talented shooter Mohammad Khalil Akhtar has become the first from the country to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Also known as ‘Shooter Akhtar’, qualified after a swell performance at the World Shooting Cup which was hosted in Brazil. The event served as the qualifier for the 2020 Olympics and Akhtar qualified through the quota system.
Khalil scored 293 points (99, 98, 96) in the first qualification round and 293 points (97, 99, 97) in the second in 25-metre Rapid Fire Pistol event. With the score of 586 points, he qualified for the finals in which he scored 10 points to secure the sixth position.
Khalil secured the Olympic quota since all other finalists (five) had either already qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics or their representative nations had already achieved the maximum quota possible for the event.
He beat three Indian shooters as they failed to qualify for the finals. Adarsh Singh finished 25th, Anhad Jawanda secured 30th place, and Anish finished 19th with a total score of 577 points, the highest among Indians.
34-years-old Rajanpur based Mohammad Khalil Akhtar will be participating in the rapid fire pistol event for Pakistan. Pakistan Shooting Association secretary Raziuddin believes “Pakistan can win an Olympic medal in the shooting event”.
“Qualifying through Olympic quota is a big win,” Raziuddin said.
According to the world rankings by ISSF for September, Khalil jumped to 15th position from 33rd. Meanwhile, Bashir scored 286 points (98, 94, 94) in the first qualification round and hit 290 points (97, 98, 95) in the second. He scored 576 points to secure 20th position, beating two Indians.
