Shooter Meraj Ahmad Khan (In center) with his rivals at the Skate Shooting ISSF world cup after winning gold medal
Malick Asghar Hashmi / New Delhi
Indian shooter Meraj Khan has become the first Indian to win gold in skeet shooting in the final of the ISSF World Cup Rifle in Changwon, Korea.
The two-time Olympian Meraj Ahmed Khan won the country's first individual gold medal. He shot 119-125 in the men's skeet in two days to clinch the gold.
With his victory, India has stayed on top of the medal tally with five gold, five silver, and three bronze medals and with two more days for the competitions.
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India on Tuesday won the bronze medal 16-06 against Austria with the 50m Rifle 3 Position (3P) women's team of Anjum Moudgil, Sift Kaur, and Ashi Choksi.
After finishing with a score of 119, he competed with four other shooters for the two final qualification spots, among them Abdullah Al Rashidi, a two-time Olympic medalist from Kuwait.
He topped the ranking round with 27 hits from 30 goals against German Sven Korte, Korean Minky Cho, and Cypriot Nicolas Vasallo. Sven followed him in the medal round with 25 hits.
It was during the Tokyo Olympics that Meraj showed his prowess although he did not win a medal. Meraj, 45, comes from an affluent family of landlords of Bulandshair, Uttar Pradesh. His father had helped his son find interest in shooting. He started training soon after completing his college studies in 1998.
Meraj Ahmed Khan made his international debut in the year 2003 during the ISSF World Cup in Lonato, Italy. Ranked 14th in the world for the year 2021, Meraj had competed in the men's skeet at the Tokyo Olympics. He was the first Indian shooter to qualify for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
Meraj Ahmed Khan won a silver medal at the 2016 ISSF World Cup in Rio de Janeiro and a gold medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Shooting Championships in Delhi.
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