Ghulam Mustafa Bashir Finishes Eighth in Asian Games Shooting Stage

Sports Correspondent: Imran Sohail

KARACHI: Pakistan’s Olympian shooter Ghulam Mustafa Bashir made a promising start in the men’s 25-metre rapid fire pistol competition at the 20th Asian Games in Japan on Wednesday.

Bashir recorded a score of 289-8x in the first stage of the event at the Aichi Prefecture General Shooting Gallery, finishing eighth among 28 competitors.

The Pakistani shooter will compete in the second stage on Thursday, with the final also scheduled to take place on the same day. His performance has kept him within reach of the qualification places.

China’s Su Lianbofan led the stage-one standings with 297-12x, while South Korea’s Yoon Seoyeong and Lee Gunhyeok occupied second and third positions with scores of 293-9x and 292-8x, respectively.

Bashir was only one point behind Kazakhstan’s Nikita Chiryukin, who finished seventh. The close standings mean the second stage could play an important role in determining the finalists.

Senior National Rifle Association of Pakistan official and coach Razi Ahmed Khan described Bashir’s opening performance as encouraging and expressed hope that the experienced shooter could advance to the final.

Pakistan Faces NOC-Related Setbacks

Pakistan’s shooting participation has also been affected by delays involving No Objection Certificates (NOCs). Mohammad Farooq and Mohammad Shabbir were unable to compete in the rapid fire pistol event.

According to Razi Ahmed Khan, although the required NOCs had been issued, delays affected travel arrangements. He said missing flights created additional difficulties because transporting ammunition requires advance arrangements.

Other Pakistani shooters, including Farrukh Nadeem, Usman Chand, Imam Haroon and Kishmala Talat, were also unable to participate because of the same issue.

Kishmala Talat had previously won a historic bronze medal for Pakistan in shooting at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou. Razi said she had been in good form and could have challenged for another medal in Japan.