Paris Olympics: Maheshwari, Raiza finish 14th and 23rd in women's skeet qualification

Indian shooters Maheshwari Chauhan and Raiza Dhillon finished 14th and 23rd and fell short of the cut-off for the women’s skeet final, ending their campaigns in the qualification event at the Paris Olympics on Sunday.

Maheshwari, the reigning Asian Championships bronze medallist, started strong and was in solid contention by the end of the fourth round. Her consistent performance had her within reach of the cut-off mark for the final. Yet, the pressure of the last round proved challenging. Three crucial misses resulted in a score of 22/25, bringing her total to 118/125. This placed her in 14th position, outside the top six shooters who advanced to the final.

Raiza, on the other hand, had a challenging start on Day 1. However, she showed remarkable resilience, making up for the initial deficit with a determined effort in the subsequent rounds. Despite her best attempts, the gap proved too significant to overcome entirely. She finished the qualification event in 23rd place with a score of 113/125, falling short of the top 20.