Mairaj Ahmad Khan is an Indian shooter who specializes in shotgun skeet. He is one of India’s most senior strikers.
Wiki/Biography
Mairaj Ahmad Khan Oly was born on Sunday 2 November 1975 in Khurja, Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh (45 years; as of 2020) . His zodiac sign is Scorpio. He studied at Jamia Millia Islamia University, New Delhi, and holds a postgraduate degree.
appearance
Height: 5′9″
Weight (approximately): 81kg
Eye color: brown
Hair color: black
family
Parents and siblings
His father, the late Ilyas Ahmed Khan, was a national-level clay pigeon shooter and businessman. His mother’s name is Farooq Ilyas. He has three siblings, two brothers and one sister. His brother Najam Khan was a state-level shooter but gave up shooting and joined the family business. His other brother’s name is Siraj Khan and his sister’s name is Farhim Ilyas Khan.
Mairaj Ahmed Khan’s mother
Siraj Khan, younger brother of Mairaj Ahmad Khan
Mairaj Ahmad Khan’s younger brother Najam Khan
sister of meraj ahmed khan
wife
His wife Zarah Ali Khan is the director of Airgenics Global in Gurgaon, Haryana. Mairaj said in an interview that his wife understands his passion and dedication to the game. He further said,
Zara loves my passion and dedication to the sport. She believed in my hard work and always told me that if you stick with what you have, results will follow. “
Mairaj Ahmed Khan and his wife
religion
Mairaj Ahmed Khan was born into a Sunni Muslim family.
Profession
After graduating from college, Khan started shooting in 1998. One of his uncles introduced him to shooting. Once, while practicing shooting at a shooting range in Delhi, he met former national clay pigeon coach Timur Matoian. In an interview, Khan shared his experience of meeting Timur for the first time. He said,
He had been watching me for a few weekends. Finally, he came up to me and told me my technique was terrible. But if I was serious about shooting, he was willing to help me correct it. “
In 2003, he participated in his first international competition, the ISSF World Cup in Lonato, Italy. Mairaj then underwent intensive training and won various national and international titles. In September 2015, he qualified for the Olympics in the shotgun skeet competition in Lonato, Italy, becoming the first Indian to qualify for the event. He won a silver medal at the 2016 ISSF World Cup Championship in Rio. That same year, he earned an Olympic spot in the Olympic shotgun and skeet event. In 2016, he became the first Indian to represent India in the SK125 event at the Rio Olympics.
He has won multiple medals at shooting championships such as Commonwealth Shooting Championships, Asian Championships, South Asian Federation Championships, etc. Mairaj is associated with the shooting club “National Rifle Association of India (NRAI)”. His personal coach is Andrea Benelli and his national team coach is Sunny Thomas. His shooting hand is correct and his dominant eye is correct. He has participated in shooting events such as SK125, SKMIX, and SKTEAMM. He was selected to represent India in the shooting event at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics to be held in 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
medal
gold medal
The country’s
- 2007, 2009, 2010, 2016: National Shooting Championship (NSCC), Delhi, Patiala, Jaipur
- 2009: All India Sardar Sajjan Singh Sethi Masters Shooting Championship, Jammu
- 2011: National Games, Ranchi
- 2012: All India Sardar Sajjan Singh Sethi Masters Shooting Championship, Delhi
International
- 2007: Singapore Open Shooting Championships
- 2008: Singapore Open Shooting Championships
- 2010: Commonwealth Shooting Championships, New Delhi, India
- 2021: Won gold medal at ISSF World Cup Men’s Skeet Team (SKTEAMM) event in New Delhi, India
silver medal
The country’s
- 2007: National Games, Guwahati
- 2014: National Shooting Championship (NSCC), Patiala
- 2015: National Games, Kerala
International
- 2008: Singapore Open Shooting Championships
- 2009: South Asian Federation Shooting Championships, Dhaka, Bangladesh
- 2010: Commonwealth Shooting Championships, New Delhi, India
- 2012: Malaysia Asian Shotgun Shooting Championships
- 2016: ISSF World Cup Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- 2019: Silver medal at the Asian Championships in Doha, Qatar
Mairaj Ahmad Khan competes in Asian Shotgun Championship
bronze medal
The country’s
- 2008: All India Sardar Sajjan Singh Sethi Masters Shooting Championship, Patiala
- 2011: National Shooting Championship (NSCC), Delhi
International
- 2007: Singapore Open Shooting Championships
- 2016: Asian Shotgun Shooting Championships, Abu Dhabi, UAE
- 2021: Bronze medal at ISSF World Cup Men’s Skeet Team (SKTEAMM) event in Cairo, Italy
Note: He also won many other medals.
dispute
In 2012, he was accused of poaching Sambal deer in Uttar Pradesh. Several Indian news channels published photos of him in which he was seen with a deer he allegedly killed. Later, Khan denied all such rumors and said that all these pictures were morphed. He further stated that he had left India when he was accused of the crime. In an interview, he talked about the impact it had on his game. He said,
It distracted me and cost me my spot in the Olympics. When I got home, the case was dismissed due to lack of evidence. All photos provided are anamorphic and can be seen by the judge. Moreover, I was in different countries at the same time. “
Facts/Trivia
- Initially, he wanted to become a professional cricketer. At the age of 10, he participated in the U-12 50-meter rifle competition and finished third. He used his winnings to buy a cricket bat. In an interview, he talked about his love for cricket. He said,
In the past, most players took 60-70 balls to get a score of around 80. I would do it with 30 or 40 balls. I used to bat at No. 3 and used to get excited seeing Sehwag and playing cricket. I played cricket with Sehwag of Jamia University. I have also participated in Vizzy Trophy, CK Nayudu Trophy, etc., but I am a big fan of Sourav Ganguly. I am left-handed and want to bat like Ganguly. I met him too, but luck probably chose the Olympic path for me, so that’s where my goal is now. “
- In an interview, he shared how he became interested in shooting. He said.
My father was a shooter and I accompanied him to the shooting range as a kid. I loved watching him shoot, and I immediately became passionate about the discipline. To be honest, I followed my family tradition and I do have him to thank for passing on the love of the sport to me. “
- Khan runs an NGO called MAK Shooting Foundation that trains budding shooters in India.
- As of 2021, he is writing his autobiography titled “Hard Target.”
- In an interview, he talked about his most exciting victory. He said,
My best win was definitely the one that qualified me for the Olympics. Truly, it’s an unparalleled feeling… I really can’t believe I qualified to compete against other shooters at the 2016 Rio Olympics. My dream came true and the skeet event was the first time that India had passed the elimination rounds! Can you imagine? This is a victory that will go down in history and I am extremely proud of it. In addition, there are many other victories that stick in my mind: I won 7 national titles, a gold medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Shooting Championship, a silver medal at the Rio World Cup and a bronze medal at the 2016 Asian Championships. “
Mairaj Ahmad Khan in practice
- Mairaj’s idol is Swiss tennis player Roger Federer. In an interview, Mairaj said of his idol:
I read about him all the time. It gives me great joy… There are so many (good) tennis players out there now, how he still handles that pressure. So, here I am, all 45 years old, and my teammates are all 23 or 24 years old. I take inspiration from Federer, “When I see him on the court, when people say he’s getting older, I say ‘no.'” I think he’s the GOAT (the greatest of all time). I get goosebumps every time I see him. I really wanted to be like him; he was my idol. “
- In an interview, when he was asked what advice he would give to a young man taking up skeet shooting? He said,
Three P’s! Passion, process, and perseverance are three elements you need to master and put into practice to achieve great results. This applies to every sport! We should never forget that one must work hard, be absolutely committed to what one does, and be equipped with the best equipment: a perfect shotgun and a top-notch choke tube. I firmly believe that the best choke tube in the world is a Gemini product. “
- He prefers to visit Italy. In an interview, he spoke of his love for Italy, saying,
Italy is my favorite place, I have been visiting Italy since 2003, I love spending my time in Italy, I really love the food, I love its history and I really love the people of this country. My equipment is made in Italy and my trainer is Italian. “
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education