Olympics 2024: Shooter GM Bashir Places 15th in 25m Rapid Fire Pistol, Fails to Advance to Final
Olympics 2024: Shooter GM Bashir Places 15th in 25m Rapid Fire Pistol, Fails to Advance to Final Three-time Olympian Ghulam Mustafa Bashir finished 15th in the Men’s 25m Rapid Fire Pistol qualifying round on Sunday, missing out on a spot in the Olympic final. The seasoned shooter recorded an overall score of 581-19x, with a Series 1 score of 292 (98, 99, 95) and a Series 2 score of 289 (97, 97, 95).
Only the top six scores advance to the final, which is currently led by Chinese shooters Yuehong Li (588-30x) and Xinjie Wang (587-24x), with Ukraine’s Pavlo Korostylov in third place at 587-17x.
Ghulam Mustafa Bashir’s score of 581-19x, while an improvement from his 579 at Tokyo 2020 and 571 at Rio 2016, fell short of the top six. His lifetime best remains 584, achieved at the 2022 World Shooting Championships where he made history as the first Pakistani to win a shooting medal, clinching bronze.
Before heading to Paris, Bashir expressed hope that his third Olympic appearance would finally secure him a spot in the final. Notably, Tokyo 2020 gold medalist Jean Quiquampoix of France finished 22nd, and Germany’s world and Olympic record holder Christian Reitz placed 23rd, missing out on the final.
Bashir’s performance in Paris marked the end of Pakistan’s shooting team’s participation in the Olympics. Kishmala Talat finished 22nd in the Women’s 25m Pistol and 14th in the 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team event with two-time Olympian Gulfam Joseph. Both Talat and Joseph also placed 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 by winning silver and bronze at the Asian Shooting Championships in Jakarta.
With six of Pakistan’s seven athletes having competed without advancing to the next round, all eyes now turn to javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem. The Tokyo 2020 finalist will compete in the Men’s Javelin throw heats on August 6, with the final scheduled for August 8.
