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Day 2 at the 2021 Olympics 2021 men’s skeet event witnessed the end of medal chances for India’s Angad Vir Singh Bajwa and Mairaj Ahmad Khan. The Indian Shooting team are yet to open their medal tally at the on-going Tokyo Olympics.
On 25th July, Sunday, the shooters had completed the 3 out of 5 series. Angad Vir Singh Bajwa had 73/75 hits and Mairaj Ahmad Khan had 71/75 hits.
On 26th July, Monday, the remaining 2 series were shot. Angad Vir Singh Bajwa added 47/50 hits to his overnight tally. Mairaj Ahmad Khan could only manage 46/50 hits today.
Here are 3 key takeaways:
#1 Angad Vir Singh Bajwa’s decent performance on his Olympic debut:
25-year Angad Vir Singh Bajwa fought hard to break into the top-6 bracket. Had he hit 2 more targets in addition to his score of 120/125, he would have contested in the shoot-off for the final. His performance helped him claim the 18th position in the qualification leader-board.
Angad Vir Singh Bajwa’s 5 series breakdown read as 24, 25, 24, 23, 24. A perfect 2nd series made his claim stronger for a spot in the final. However, the 4th series resulted in the undoing of his efforts. The youngster will only improve in the years to come and today’s experience will be beneficial for the Olympics in 2024!
#2 More was expected from Mairaj Ahmad Khan!
The veteran couldn’t capitalize on his huge wealth of experience. His scoresheet read a disappointing figure of 117/125 targets. The detailed split-up is 25, 24, 22, 23, 23. He began the competition with an error-less series of 25 out of 25.
However, he couldn’t sustain the momentum. A meager score of 22 in the third series meant he had a lot of ground to gain in the end.
He was placed 25th on the qualification leaderboard today. In the Rio Olympics in 2016, he had 121/125 targets and finished 9th back then.
#3 The wait for an Olympic medal in shotgun discipline continues:
Since Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore’s silver medal at the 2004 Olympics, the Indian Shooting team hasn't won a single Olympic medal in the shotgun discipline. Albeit performing poorly in Tokyo, the rifle and pistol shooters have been dominant throughout the last Olympic cycle.
However, shotgun shooters haven’t been a force to be reckoned with. Given Angad Vir Singh Bajwa and Mairaj Ahmad Khan’s exit today, the wait for an Olympic medal in shotgun discipline will stretch for another 3 years.
