ISSF Shotgun World Cup Cairo 2023: India’s Mairaj Ahmad Khan and Ganemat Sekhon win skeet mixed team gold medal

Indian shooters Mairaj Ahmad Khan and Ganemat Sekhon bagged a gold medal in the skeet mixed team event at the ISSF Shotgun World Cup 2023 in Cairo, Egypt on Sunday.

The duo beat Luis Raul Gallardo Oliveros and Gabriela Rodriguez of Mexico 6-0 in the final to top the podium.

The Italian pair comprising two-time world championships silver medallist Simona Scocchetti and Rio Olympics champion Gabriele Rossetti took the bronze medal.

In the 30-team qualification round, Olympian Mairaj Ahmad Khan, who won his fifth senior ISSF World Cup medal, shot 74/75 as the Indian pair scored a combined 143 out of 150 - on par with the Mexicans.

The Indian pair then defeated the Mexicans 4-3 in a shoot off to top the qualification round.

In the decider, the 47-year-old Mairaj Ahmad Khan shot a perfect fours in the first two series’ to help India to the gold medal.

Anant Jeet Singh Naruka and Maheshwari Chauhan, the other Indian team in fray, failed to make the medal rounds after finishing 10th in the qualifiers with a score of 140.

It was a fourth shooting World Cup medal for Ganemat as well and her second gold in the mixed team event.

Ganemat Sekhon had narrowly failed to make the medal round in the women’s individual skeet event on Friday after finishing fourth in her ranking match. Earlier, she had placed third in the qualifiers.

Mairaj Ahmad Khan, meanwhile, had a disappointing outing in the men’s individual event as he finished 57th in the qualifiers.