Mairaj Ahmad Khan Height, Age, Wife, Family, Biography & More

Bio/Wiki
Other name	Mairaj Ahmad Khan Oly [1]Facebook
Profession	Shotgun Skeet Shooter
Physical Stats & More
[2]ISSF Sports Height	in centimeters- 175 cm in meters- 1.75 m in feet & inches- 5’ 9”
Weight (approx.)	in kilograms- 81 kg in pounds- 178 lbs
Eye Colour	Brown
Hair Colour	Black
Shooting
Event(s)	SK125, SKMIX, and SKTEAMM
International Debut	ISSF World Cup in Lonato, Italy (2003)
Handedness	Right
Master Eye	Right
Coach(es)/Mentor(s)	• Andrea Benelli • Sunny Thomas
Club	National Rifle Association of India (NRAI)
Medals	Gold Medal National • 2007, 2009, 2010, 2016: National Shooting Championship Competition (NSCC), Delhi, Patiala, Jaipur • 2009: All India Sardar Sajjan Singh Sethi Master’s Shooting Championship, Jammu • 2011: National Games, Ranchi • 2012: All India Sardar Sajjan Singh Sethi Master’s Shooting Championship, Delhi International • 2007: Singapore Open Shooting Championship • 2008: Singapore Open Shooting Championship • 2010: Commonwealth Shooting Championship, New Delhi, India • 2021: Gold Medal in ISSF World Cup in the event Skeet Team Men (SKTEAMM) held at New Delhi, India Silver Medal National • 2007: National Games, Guwahati • 2014: National Shooting Championship Competition (NSCC), Patiala • 2015: National Games, Kerala International • 2008: Singapore Open Shooting Championship • 2009: South Asian Federation Shooting Championship, Dhaka, Bangladesh • 2010: Commonwealth Shooting Championship, New Delhi, India • 2012: Asian Shotgun Shooting Championship, Malaysia • 2016: ISSF World Cup Rio de Janeiro, Brazil • 2019: Silver Medal in Asian Championship held at Doha, Qatar Bronze Medal National • 2008: All India Sardar Sajjan Singh Sethi Master’s Shooting Championship, Patiala • 2011: National Shooting Championship Competition (NSCC), Delhi International • 2007: Singapore Open Shooting Championship • 2016: Asian Shotgun Shooting Championship, Abu Dhabi, U.A.E. • 2021: Bronze Medal in ISSF World Cup in the event Skeet Team Men (SKTEAMM) held at Cairo, Italy Note: He has received many other medals.
Personal Life
Date of Birth	2 November 1975 (Sunday)
Age (as of 2020)	45 Years
Birthplace	Khurja, Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh
Zodiac sign	Scorpio
Nationality	Indian
Hometown	Khurja, Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh
College/University	Jamia Millia Islamia University, New Delhi
Educational Qualifications	Post Graduation [3]ISSF Sports [4]Sport Star
Religion	Islam [5]Sports Keeda
Caste	Sunni [6]Sports Keeda
Controversy	In 2012, he was accused of poaching a Sambhar deer in Uttar Pradesh. Later, his photos with the poached deer were also circulated in media. Khan denied the accusations and said those photos were morphed. He further said that he was not even present in India at the time of the incident. Later, in an interview, he shared how the controversy. [7]YouTube He said, "That distracted me and cost me the Olympic place. When I got back home the cases were dismissed because of a lack of evidence. All the photos provided were morphed and the judge could see that. Besides, I was in a different country at the same time.”
Relationships & More
Marital Status	Married
Family
Wife/Spouse	Zarah Ali Khan (Aviation Professional)
Parents	Father- Late Ilyas Ahmed Khan (state-level trap shooter and businessman) Mother- Farrukh Ilyas
Siblings	Brother(s)- 2 • Najam Khan (former state-level shooter and businessman) • Siraj Khan Sister- Farheen Ilyas Khan

Some Lesser Known Facts About Mairaj Ahmad Khan

• Mairaj Ahmad Khan is a senior Indian shotgun skeet shooter.

• While he was in school and college, he wanted to become a cricketer. At the age of 10, with the prize money of the U-12 50-metre rifle competition, he bought a cricket bat. He has also played cricket with the famous Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag. During an interview, he talked about his love for cricket. He said,

Most players used to take 60-70 balls to score 80 or so. I would do that in 30 or 40 balls. I used to bat at number 3 and seeing Sehwag and playing cricket used to get excited. I have played cricket with Sehwag for Jamia University. I have also participated in tournaments like Vizzy Trophy, CK Nayudu Trophy but I am a big fan of Sourav Ganguly. I am a left-hander and wanted to bat like Ganguly. I have met him too, but luck may have chosen the Olympic path for me, so now I am aiming there.”

• Later, he opted for shooting as his career. In an interview, he shared how he got interested in shooting. He said,

My father was a shooter and as a child, I accompanied him to the shooting field. I loved seeing him shoot and I immediately developed a passion for such discipline. To be honest I have followed my family tradition and I do have to thank him for passing down to me the love for this particular sport.”

Mairaj Ahmad Khan while practising shooting

• In 1998, he started professional training in shooting. While he was practising in a shooting range in Delhi, the former national trap coach Timur Matoian noticed him. During an interview, Khan shared the incident. He said,

He had been watching me for a few weekends. Finally, he came up to me and said that my technique was terrible. But he offered to help me correct it if I got into shooting seriously.”

Mairaj Ahmad Khan during his practise session

• With his intensive training, he has won many national and international tournaments.

• He became the first Indian to qualify for the Shotgun Skeet Event in Lonato, Italy, in September 2015.

• In 2016, he won a silver medal at the 2016 ISSF World Cup Championship, and in the same year, he got the Rio Olympic quota under the shotgun skeet event.

• He represented India in Rio Olympics 2016 in the shooting event SK125 and became the first Indian to do so.

• He aims to train budding shooters through his NGO ‘MAK Shooting Foundation.’

• Mairaj Ahmad Khan is working on his autobiography titled ‘Hard Target’ (as of 2021).

• In an interview, he talked about his most exciting winning moment. He said,

My best victory was certainly the one thanks to which I qualified for the Olympics; indeed it was an unmatchable sensation … I really couldn’t believe that I would be eligible to compete against the other shooters during the Rio 2016 Olympics. My dream had come true, moreover, it was the first time that India had passed the eliminating round as for the skeet discipline! Can you immagine that? It’ s a victory that will remain in history, I am absolutely proud thereof. Furthermore there are many other victories that I keep in my heart: I have gained 7 titles as national champion, was awarded a 2010 Commonwealth Shooting Champion golden medal, a Rio World Cup silver as well as a 2016 Asian Championship bronze one.”

• He idolises the famous Swiss tennis player Roger Federer. During an interview, while talking about him, Mairaj said,

I always read about him. It gives me immense pleasure…how he is still coping with that kind of pressure, with so many (good) players in tennis now. So, here I am, all of 45 and I have teammates who are 23 or 24 years old. And I am drawing inspiration from Federer, ‘When I see him on the court and when people say he is getting old, I say ‘no. I think he is the G.O.A.T. (greatest of all time). Whenever I see him, it gives me goose bumps. I really want to be like him; he is my idol.”

• In an interview, while giving advice to the budding shooters, he said,

The three P’s! Passion, Process and Perseverance are three elements that you need to master and put into practice so as to excel. This applies to every sport! We should never forget that it is necessary to work hard, to be absolutely committed to what you do and to be provided with excellent equipment: a perfect shotgun and top-notch choke tubes. I firmly believe that the best choke tubes in the world are those by Gemini.”

• Mairaj loves to visit Italy often, and in an interview, he said,

Italy is my favourite place and I have been visiting Italy since 2003 and I love to spend my time in Italy, I really like Food, like its history and I really like the people of this country. My gears are made in Italy and my coach is also an Italian.”

• During an interview, while talking about his wife, he said,

Zarah loves my passion and dedication for the sport. She believes in my hard work and has always told me that the results would follow if you persist with what you have.”

• He got his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in Italy in 2021 while he was training for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. He requested the Indian Embassy in Rome to get his first jab of the ‘Pfizer vaccine.’