Three-time Olympian Ghulam Mustafa Bashir placed 15th in the Men’s 25m Rapid Fire Pistol qualifying round on Sunday, ending his hopes of making it to an Olympic final.
The veteran shooter scored a 581-19x overall, scoring a 292 (98, 99, 95) in Series 1 and 289 (97, 97, 95) in Series 2.
Only the six highest scores progress to the final, which is currently being led by Chinese shooters Yuehong Li (588-30x) and Xinjie Wang (587-24x ). Ukraine’s Pavlo Korostylov ranks third with a 587-17x.
Bashir’s score was an improvement from his 579 at Tokyo 2020 and 571 at the Rio 2016 Olympics. However, his lifetime best is 584, scored at the 2022 World Shooting championships where he made history by winning Pakistan’s first ever shooting medal after clinching bronze.
Speaking to Dawn.com before heading to Paris, the seasoned marksman was hoping third time’s the charm to make it to Sunday’s final, which will see notable absences as Tokyo 2020 gold medalist Jean Quiquampoix from France finished in 22nd place, with Germany’s world and Olympic record holder Christian Reitz one spot behind.
Bashir’s qualifier round marked the last event in Paris for Pakistan’s shooting team. Kishmala Talat placed 22nd in the Women’s 25m Pistol and 14th in the 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team event alongside two-time Olympian Gulfam Joseph. The duo finished 22nd and 31st respectively in their individual 10m Air Pistol events.
Earlier this year, Talat made history as the first Pakistani woman to directly qualify for the Olympics when she nabbed a silver and bronze at the Asian Shooting Championships in Jakarta.
Six of Pakistan’s seven athletes have competed in their events, with each of them unable to qualify for the next round.
Javelin powerhouse and Tokyo 2020 finalist Arshad Nadeem will take his place in the spotlight once again in the Men’s Javelin throw heats on August 6, with the final on August 8.
