Pakistan's Kishmala Talat, Faiqa Riaz bow out of Paris Olympics

Pakistan’s sole markswoman Kishmala Talat exited the Paris Olympics not with a bang but a whimper after placing 22nd in the Women’s 25m pistol with a final score of 579-18x at the Chateauroux Shooting Centre.

Friday afternoon’s event marked the third and final shot at Olympic glory for 22-year-old Talat. On Monday, she and compatriot Gulfam Joseph placed 14th in the 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team event, while she placed 31st in the Women’s 10m Air Pistol on Saturday.

A 289 in the precision round (95, 99, 95) and 290 in the rapid round (98, 93, 99) was miles away from a place in the final, led by Hungary’s Veronika Major with a 592-27x which equalled the Olympic Record.

Meawhile, in Paris, Faiqa Riaz sped through her Olympic debut with a 12.49 in the Women’s 100m, but it wasn’t fast enough to progress her to the next round.

Only the top three finishers in each heat advance to the next round, which was well out of Riaz’s reach with a sixth-place finish in Heat 2 of the preliminary round ahead of sprinters from Oman, America Samoa, and the UAE.

Riaz ranked 24th out of 36th participants in Friday morning’s prelims, her first international event of the year.