ISSF World C'ships: Raiza-Mairaj finishes 4th; miss out on India’s first-ever skeet medal
The other Indian pair, Ganemat Sekhon and Bhavtegh Singh Gill, could not make much headway, finishing 16th in qualification.
Mairaj Ahmad Khan and Raiza Dhillon finished 4th in the mixed team at the ISSF World C'ships. (Photo Credits: ISSF)
India's disappointing campaign at the ISSF World Championships continued as both its skeet mixed teams returned empty-handed, with Raiza Dhillon and seasoned campaigner Mairaj Ahmad Khan coming close to a podium finish before ending up fourth and last in the four-team final here on Saturday.
The Indian pair had raised hopes of ending the country's barren run in skeet after qualifying for the medal round with an impressive performance. However, they failed to carry that momentum into the final, where Raiza's five misses proved decisive as India became the first team to be eliminated.
The 22-year-old Raiza and 51-year-old Mairaj managed a combined score of 19 in the final. While Mairaj hit all 12 targets, Raiza missed five of her 12 shots, effectively ending India's medal hopes.
Earlier, the duo had finished third in qualification with a score of 146 after a tense shoot-off for the top spot, with Peru, China and India all tied on the same score. Finland claimed the fourth and final qualifying spot.
Mairaj was in impressive form, shooting a perfect 25 in each of the three rounds to aggregate 75. Raiza contributed 71 with scores of 22, 24 and 25.
The other Indian pair, Ganemat Sekhon (71/75) and Bhavtegh Singh Gill (69/75), could not make much headway, aggregating 140 to finish 16th in qualification.
In the final, Finland's Marjut Heinonen and Eetu Kallioinen clinched gold with a combined score of 50, while Peru settled for silver with 49. China took bronze with 43.
The result compounded India's disappointment in skeet, with its men's and women's shooters failing to win a medal or secure a quota place for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics in the individual and team events on Friday.
India have so far managed just one individual medal in an Olympic discipline -- Jaypal Malviya's silver in the men's 10m air pistol. He has also secured the country's only Olympic quota place at the championships so far. India's remaining medals have come in team events or non-Olympic disciplines.
China continued to dominate the championships, topping the medal standings with 23 medals, including 11 gold, six silver and six bronze.
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