Three-time Olympian Ghulam Mustafa Bashir finished 15th in the Men’s 25m Rapid Fire Pistol qualifying round on Sunday, effectively ending his hopes of reaching the Olympic final.
The veteran shooter scored a total of 581-19x, with a performance of 292 (98, 99, 95) in Series 1 and 289 (97, 97, 95) in Series 2.
Only the top six scores advance to the final, currently led by Chinese shooters Yuehong Li (588-30x) and Xinjie Wang (587-24x), while Ukraine’s Pavlo Korostylov ranks third with a score of 587-17x.
Bashir’s score was an improvement over his 579 at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and 571 at the Rio 2016 Olympics. His personal best is 584, achieved at the 2022 World Shooting Championships, where he made history by winning Pakistan’s first-ever shooting medal, a bronze.
Before heading to Paris, the seasoned marksman expressed hope that third time would be the charm in qualifying for the final. Notably, the final will see the absence of Tokyo 2020 gold medalist Jean Quiquampoix from France, who finished in 22nd place, and Germany’s world and Olympic record holder Christian Reitz, who placed 23rd.
Bashir’s qualifying round was the final event for Pakistan’s shooting team in Paris. Kishmala Talat finished 22nd in the Women’s 25m Pistol and 14th in the 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team event alongside two-time Olympian Gulfam Joseph, who finished 22nd and 31st respectively in their individual 10m Air Pistol events.
Earlier this year, Talat made history as the first Pakistani woman to qualify directly for the Olympics, securing a silver and bronze at the Asian Shooting Championships in Jakarta.
Of the seven athletes representing Pakistan, six have competed without qualifying for the next round. Javelin star and Tokyo 2020 finalist Arshad Nadeem will return to the spotlight in the Men’s Javelin throw heats on August 6, with the final scheduled for August 8.
