Young Zuhair sets high targets after 'trapping' gold at National Senior Shooting
New Delhi (PTI): Young shotgun shooter Zuhair Khan had been waiting for the moment when he would win the senior national title ever since he decided to pick up a gun after watching his father compete.
That day finally arrived earlier this month at the Karni Singh Shooting Range, when the 20-year-old clinched the trap gold at the National Championships, outshooting seasoned stalwarts and Olympians.
A third-year B.Tech student at Aligarh Muslim University, Zuhair took up the sport at 12 and had been relentlessly pursuing a senior national medal, only to miss it each time despite reaching the final on three previous occasions.
"This is my first senior national medal. I have two bronze medals in the junior category. I had reached the senior finals earlier as well, but this time I managed to convert it into a win," says Zuhair, whose father Babar Khan is also a national-level shotgun shooter.
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However, the youngster's professional journey has not been smooth. Zuhair suffered a collarbone fracture while playing football and missed his inaugural nationals at the age of 13. The COVID-19 pandemic break too hampered his progress.
"I started trap shooting at the age of 12 and have been competing ever since. I lost one year due to a collarbone injury and another because of COVID-19, but apart from that, I have trained consistently at the Karni Singh Ranges," he added.
With very few talented trap shooters coming through the ranks, Zuhair has emerged as an exciting new find. His journey began when he would tag along with his father to the shooting range.
"So, when I went to the range I was fascinated by the sport. I thought 'let's give it a try'."
Balancing academics with competitive sport is never easy, but the youngster has managed to carve out a workable middle path.
"I am pursuing a B.Tech degree at Aligarh Muslim University. There isn't a fixed schedule for shooting, but whenever I have exams, my focus is entirely on academics. And when there are shooting competitions, I am here in Delhi," he said.
The past couple of years have brought valuable experience for Zuhair, and he is pleased to be shooting consistently high scores now.
"I represented the country at the 2024 World Championship in Peru. This year, I competed twice internationally — first at the World Cup in Suhl, Germany, and then at the Asian Championships in Kazakhstan, where I participated in the junior category in both tournaments."
While he is yet to win an international medal, his success at the National Championships has significantly boosted his confidence.
"I shot 120 this time at the Nationals, and I had also shot 120 earlier in 2024 at the Khelo India Youth Games. On both occasions, I won the gold medal," said the youngster from Rampur in Uttar Pradesh.
He has already set his next target -- a strong showing at the ISSF World Cup in Cairo in April.
"The World Cup in Cairo is around April, and my long-term goal is, of course, the Olympics. I would love to get the opportunity to compete at the 2028 Los Angeles Games," he says.
"My personal coach, Rehan Rizvi, has been instrumental in my progress," says Zuhair, who is based at the National Centre of Excellence (NCOE) with the junior national squad.
He believes in having a fallback option in case a sporting career does not work out, and for that reason plans to pursue either an MBA or an M.Tech degree.
“I have no clarity right now about what I'll end up pursuing. But yes, an MBA or an M.Tech -- those are the two possibilities," said Zuhair, who divides his time between Aligarh and Delhi.
"Mostly, I train on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. On the remaining days, I have to be in Aligarh for college, so it gets a bit hectic travelling back and forth."
In between, he also finds time to play football -- his childhood passion and the sport that once caused him a collarbone injury.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
