High expectations of our Olympians fizzled out on the first day of events in Paris as Kishmala Talat and Gulfam Joseph failed to advance to the finals in their respective 10-metre Air Pistol events.
Two-time Olympian Joseph finished 22nd in the qualification round with a final score of 571.
Saturday afternoon’s performance was markedly different from his 578 score at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics where he narrowly missed the finals with a ninth-place finish.
Serbia’s Damir Mikec led the 33-person qualifier with an impressive 584, followed by Italy’s Federico Nilo Maldini with a 581 and Germany’s Christian Reitz who scored 580 and picked up a bronze medal at the Tokyo Games.
The men’s final being held on Sunday will not be featuring any South Asians as India’s Sarabjot Singh — who took home gold in the event in Tokyo — finished in ninth place with a 577 while compatriot Arjun Singh Cheema ranked at 18 with a final score of 574.
Meanwhile, Talat finished in 31st place at her Olympic debut in the 10m Air Pistol Women’s event with a final score of 567.
The women’s field was led by Hungary’s Veronika Major, who finished in 34th place at the Tokyo Olympics and South Korea’s Ye Jin Oh, both scoring 584, while India’s Manu Bhaker finished in third place.
Bhaker made an impressive comeback in the event after a 12th-place finish in Tokyo following a gun malfunction.
The Pakistani duo will be back in action on July 29 in the 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team event. Over on the Indian side are Cheema and Rhythm Sangwan, who finished at 15th place in the women’s event at her Olympic debut.
Earlier this year, 22-year-old Talat became the first Pakistani woman to directly qualify for the Olympics after clinching silver at the 2024 Asian Shooting Championships.
Her third and final event in Paris will be the 25m Pistol Women’s qualification round.
