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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Nine dead as fire breaks out in residential building in east Delhi
New Delhi (PTI): A fire broke out in a residential building in east Delhi's Vivek Vihar early Sunday, leaving nine people belonging to two families dead, including a toddler, officials said.
The incident was reported around 3.48 am at a four-storey building in Vivek Vihar Phase-I, following which police, fire and disaster management teams rushed to the spot.
According to the police, the blaze engulfed flats on the second, third and fourth floors of the building, prompting a large-scale rescue operation.The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained.
The Delhi Fire Service (DFS) said nine charred bodies were recovered from different floors.
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"One body was recovered from the first floor, five from the second floor and three from the staircase which was found locked," the DFS officer said.
Those found dead on the second floor have been identified as Arvind Jain (60), his wife Anita Jain (58), son Nishant Jain (35), daughter-in-law Anchal Jain (33) and grandchild Akash Jain.
On the third floor, three members of a family were found dead. They were identified as Nitin Jain (50), wife Shailey Jain (48) and son Samyak Jain (25).
On the first floor a woman identified as Shikha Jain (45) was found dead while her husband Naveen Jain (48) sustained injuries.
A senior police officer said, "Around 10 to 15 people were rescued from the premises during the firefighting operation. Two of them, who sustained minor injuries, were shifted to the Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital."
A total of 12 fire tenders were pressed into service to douse the flames, while teams from the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), traffic police and local police assisted in the rescue and evacuation efforts.
Police said the fire was brought under control after several hours. Efforts are underway to determine the cause of the fire, police said.
Further investigation and proceedings are underway.
