Pakistan’s shooters once again disappointed in the Olympics. What does this show? Either they are incapable of winning medals at the Olympics or we have to wait for a few more years for any achievement.

The answer to the second situation is yes we can wait because there is an analogy supporting this. Our first medal (bronze) at Asian level was won by Amin Karamat at the Asian Championships in Bangkok in 2010. Then, after 12 years, G M Bashir was the second shooter from the country to win any medal at international level when he clinched the bronze medal at a World Championship in Cairo in 2022.

So this analogy gives us hope that we can wait for this glory.

The answer to the second situation is no, according to the National Rifle Association of Pakistan.

The NRAP believes that Pakistani shooters have good standards and they manage to do well at international level and sometimes they even beat Indian shooters.

For example, in the Asian Games in 2018 one of our shooters Usman Chand scored 122 out of 125 in the main qualification round of Skeet event, missing the Asian record by only 1 score. He was able to beat the Olympic bronze medalists of the 2012 and 2016 Olympics.

Similarly, in a World Shooting Championship held in South Korea from 30 August to 15 September 2018, Ghulam Mustafa Bashir scored 583 out of 600 in the Rapid Fire Pistol event to achieve the 7th position in the world. And Khalil Akhtar scored 579 out of 600 in the Rapid Fire Pistol event to get 18th position in the world. Khalil won a quota place for Tokyo 2020 in a world cup while beating India’s shooters Adarsh Singh (finished 25th), Anhad Jawanda (secured 30th place), and Anish (finished 19th).

This is the reason NRAP is happy that shooting is doing far better at both Asian and world levels than other sports in the country though these achievements by our shooters go unnoticed and our sports fraternity doesn’t give shooters due recognition.

Now back to the core question: why do they fail in the Olympics. I think this is due to lack of, or low, participation in international events during Olympic Cycles.

According to statistics, Pakistan’s shooters recorded the second biggest participation in international events in 2019 since 2012 when 17 shooters took part in one Asian Championships, six world cups, and one world championships.

This participation before Tokyo 2020 really helped our shooters but it did not happen this time before Paris 2024. The apparent reason is the financial constraints of the NRAP.

In 2012, a total of 18 shooters participated in two Asian Championships and one world cup. In 2018, 11 shooters participated in Asian Championships in Kuwait and World Championships in Changwon.

Similarly, 12 shooters took part in Asian Championships in Wako City, World Championships in Moscow, and World Cups in Larnaka and Gabala in 2017.

In 2016, ten shooters played different events in Asian Championships in Tehran and Abu Dhabi, and World Cup in San Marino.

In 2015, eight shooters featured in World Cups in Gabala, Changwon, and Al-Ain, and World Championships in Lonato.

In 2014, nine shooters went to participate in the Asian Championship in Al-Ain and Kuwait. In 2013, ten shooters took part in Asian Championships in Tehran and Almaty, and World Cup in Granada.

Our Olympic-bound shooters namely Gulfam Joseph, G M Bashir, and Kishmala Talat played various events during the current Olympic Cycle before Paris 2024.

Gulfam played two World Championships (2022-23), three World Cups (2022-24) and two Asian Championships (2023-24). Kishmala played two World Championships (2022-23), two World Cups (2022-24), and two Asian Championships (2023-24). G M Bashir played two World Championships (2022-23), four World Cups (2022-24), and two Asian Championships (2023-24).

Normally, our shooters get to participate in major games like Asian Games, Islamic Solidarity Games, Commonwealth Games and SAF Games. But this seems not enough for them though NRAP is ok with this.

An official of NRAP reportedly said that there was a time when only those who could afford were able to participate in international events but things have changed over the years and all credit goes to the positive approach of NRAP.

The NRAP has justification for this low participation of our shooters in international events as the Indian shooting federation receives an annual grant of 500 million rupees from the Indian government along with funds from their provincial governments while they have 100 Indian companies sponsoring their sports including shooting.

But here, NRAP receives just two million rupees annually from the Pakistan Sports Board and there is no private sponsorship for our shooters.

One reason for low funding to shooting by government agencies and the private sector is that shooting is not a popular sport in the country. This has been acknowledged by different shooting authorities many times.

Secretary Sports and Youth Affairs, Government of Sindh, M Rashid, at an event rightly said there is a need to take this sport to the masses in order to make it popular because currently it’s subjected to a lot of restrictions.

He was of the view that having a weapon is no offence but shooting sports is restricted to influential people of the society which is not good for it and if this sport is not taken to the masses, Pakistan will never get a valuable place in the international shooting sphere.

M Idrees, an official of NRAP, said air pistol and air rifle are quite changed games as they do not require huge space and they are not harmful as well. He recommended setting up three to four ranges of this category in schools, colleges, and clubs in Karachi or Hyderabad to make it popular.

However, efforts of NRAP and other authorities in this regard are not bearing fruit and they are still struggling to make this sport popular among masses. So, they have only one option: win a medal at the Olympics.