Raiza-Mairaj Finish Fourth in ISSF Worlds Skeet Final

Raiza Dhillon and Mairaj Ahmad Khan finished fourth in the skeet mixed team final at the ISSF World Championships, narrowly missing what would have been India’s first-ever medal in the discipline at the event. The Indian pair reached the four-team medal round after a strong qualification performance but were the first side eliminated in the final on Saturday.

Dhillon and Khan posted a combined score of 19 in the final. Khan hit all 12 of his targets, while Dhillon registered seven hits from 12 shots, with five misses proving costly as India’s medal bid ended in fourth place.

The result was significant for an Indian skeet campaign that had been seeking a breakthrough at the World Championships. India’s men’s and women’s skeet shooters had already missed out on medals and quota places for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics in the individual and team events on Friday.

Strong qualification puts India into medal round

Khan and Dhillon had earned their place in the final by finishing third in qualification with a total of 146. Peru, China and India were level on the same score in a tense contest for the top positions, while Finland claimed the fourth and final qualifying place.

Khan was flawless across his three qualification rounds, shooting 25 in each round for a perfect aggregate of 75. Dhillon added 71, recording rounds of 22, 24 and 25. Their combined total put them in contention for a historic Indian skeet medal before the final changed the picture.

The other Indian mixed team of Ganemat Sekhon and Bhavtegh Singh Gill finished 16th in qualification with 140. Sekhon scored 71 out of 75, while Gill registered 69 out of 75, leaving the pair outside the race for the four-team final.

In the medal round, Finland’s Marjut Heinonen and Eetu Kallioinen won gold with a score of 50. Peru took silver on 49, while China secured bronze with 43. India’s 19 left Dhillon and Khan at the bottom of the final standings despite their high-level qualifying return.

India’s skeet wait continues at World Championships

For Khan, the qualification score underlined his consistency, with 75 hits from 75 targets across the three rounds. Dhillon’s 71 also helped India to 146 and a place among the four teams contesting medals. But the final format brought a different outcome, and the pair could not convert their qualification position into a podium finish.

The fourth-place result added to India’s disappointment in skeet at the championships. The country had not won a medal or obtained a Los Angeles 2028 quota place in the men’s and women’s individual and team skeet events.

India had managed one individual medal in an Olympic discipline at the championships at the time of this result, with Jaypal Malviya winning silver in the men’s 10m air pistol. Malviya had also secured India’s only Olympic quota place at the event so far. India’s other medals had come in team events or non-Olympic disciplines.

China continued to lead the overall medal standings with 23 medals: 11 gold, six silver and six bronze. For India, the mixed skeet final represented a close opportunity, with Dhillon and Khan reaching the medal round but ending one place short of the podium.