Struggle for recognition far from over for Mairaj

Last week he won his first international gold medal,when he and Arozepal Sandhu combined to fetch the top spot in the pairs event at the Commonwealth Shooting Championships. It’s a staggering statistic,considering the fact that he started shooting way back in 1999 and skeet in 2000.

“We had businessmen in the skeet team and very few professionals until a few years back. It was a struggle for many just to continue in the sport without financial support. But overall I must say the reason why skeet gets a step-motherly treatment is because we haven’t won big till date and trap shooters have been winning so many medals ,” he told Sportline.

A chance meeting with India’s former shotgun coach,the late Teimuraz Matoian of Georgia,at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range got him hooked to shooting fulltime.

“Matoian was impressed and wrote to the NRAI and I was called up to join the camp. He was my first coach in skeet and taught me the basics. But shortly afterwards he was sacked by the association.

“I was not a complete shooter then and my technique wasn’t all that good. Two years later Juan Giha was appointed as our new coach. He helped me a lot to improve my results,but he too was sacked in 2003.”

There was a six-year wait for India’s next coach to get appointed and the result — or lack of it — was there for all to notice. “Last year Shan Zhang was appointed as our new coach. But because we weren’t doing well nobody bothered to ask us about our preferences. They themselves decided that Shan will be our coach and we had to accept it. You know beggars can’t be choosers,” Khan added.

The shooter has had a long association with cricket. The fact that he still remembers scoring his first ton and his heroics at the cricket field is a clear signal of where his shooting career stands. He was in the VIIIth standard when he scored his first century and many more runs in the school cricket,earned him a call-up to the district team and was soon part of UP team for the CK Nayudu Trophy,where he was adjudged the Man of the Match twice. Making the Ranji team was the next step forward,but it didn’t happen and so he joined Jamia Milia Islamia for further studies,where he captained Virender Sehwag.

“In 1998,Sehwag got admission in our college. I had never heard of him before. He only played one match during my time,where he scored 76 and we won the match.”

While Sehwag went on to represent Delhi and destroy bowling attacks around the world for India,Khan is still yearning to make his name. “Inshallah,if I win a big medal,it will go a long way.”