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

Mairaj Ahmad Khan is an Indian shooter who plays in the shotgun skeet discipline. He is one of the most senior shooters in India.

Wiki/Biography

Mairaj Ahmad Khan Oly was born on Sunday, 2 November 1975 (age 45 years; as of 2020) in Khurja, Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh. His zodiac sign is Scorpio. He attended Jamia Millia Islamia University in New Delhi, and he holds a post-graduate degree.

Physical Appearance

Height: 5′ 9″

Weight (approx.): 81 kg

Eye Colour: Brown

Hair Colour: Black

Family

Parents & Siblings

His father, Late Ilyas Ahmed Khan, was a state-level trap shooter and businessman. His mother’s name is Farrukh Ilyas. He has three siblings, two brothers, and one sister. His brother, Najam Khan, was a state-level shooter, but he left shooting and joined his family business. His other brother’s name is Siraj Khan, and his sister’s name is Farheen Ilyas Khan.

Wife

His wife, Zarah Ali Khan, is a director at Airgenics Global, Gurugram, Haryana. In an interview, Mairaj said that his wife understood his passion and dedication for his game. He further 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.”

Religion

Mairaj Ahmad Khan was born in a Sunni Muslim family.  

Career

After completing college, Khan started practising shooting in 1998. He was introduced to shooting by one of his uncles. Once, when he was practising shooting at a shooting range in Delhi, he met the former national trap coach Timur Matoian. In an interview, Khan shared his experience of meeting Timur for the first time. 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.”

In 2003, he participated in an international competition for the first time which was the ISSF World Cup in Lonato, Italy. Later, Mairaj trained intensively and won various national and international championships. In September 2015, he won the Olympic quota in the Shotgun Skeet Event in Lonato, Italy, and he became the first Indian to qualify for this event. He won a Silver Medal at the 2016 ISSF World Cup Championship in Rio. In the same year, he got the Olympic quota for the shotgun skeet event for the Olympics. In 2016, he became the first Indian to represent India in the SK125 event at the Rio Olympics.

He has won many medals at shooting championships like Commonwealth Shooting Championship, Asian Championships, and South Asian Federation Championship. Mairaj has been associated with the shooting club ‘National Rifle Association of India (NRAI).’ His personal coach is Andrea Benelli, and his national coach is Sunny Thomas. His handedness in shooting is right, and his master eye is also right. He has performed in the shooting events like SK125, SKMIX, and SKTEAMM. He was selected to represent India in the shooting competition at the Tokyo Olympics 2020 which was held in 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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.

Controversy

He was accused of poaching a Sambhar deer in Uttar Pradesh in 2012. Various Indian news channels released his photos in which he was seen with a deer who was claimed to be killed by him. Later, Khan denied all such rumours and said that all those photos were morphed. He further said that he was out of India when he was accused of the crime. In an interview, he talked about its effect on his game. 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.”

Facts/Trivia

• Initially, he wanted to become a professional cricketer. When he was 10 years old, he participated in U-12 50 metre rifle competition and stood third in it. With the prize money, he bought a cricket bat. In 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.”

• In an interview, he shared how he developed an interest 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.”

• Khan runs an NGO named ‘MAK Shooting Foundation’ to train the budding shooters in India.

• As of 2021, he is working on his autobiography titled ‘Hard Target.’

• During an interview, he talked about his most exciting victory. 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.”

Mairaj Ahmad Khan during his practise session

• Mairaj’s idol is the Swiss tennis player Roger Federer. In an interview, while talking about his idol, 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, when he was asked what advice would he give to a young person approaching skeet shooting? 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.”

• He loves visiting Italy more often. During an interview, he talked about his love for Italy, 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.”