GM Bashir wins rapid-fire pistol bronze for Pakistan at Asian Games

Pakistan's veteran pistol shooter Ghulam Mustafa Bashir won bronze in the men's 25m rapid-fire pistol at the 20th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, on 1 October 2026. It was his first Asian Games medal and a significant result for a Pakistani shooting team whose campaign had been badly disrupted before it began.

From eighth to the podium

The event was staged at the Aichi Prefecture General Shooting Gallery. After the first stage of qualification on 30 September 2026, Bashir sat eighth in a field of 28 with 289 points, one point behind Kazakhstan's Nikita Chiryukin in seventh. China's Su Lianbofan led at that stage with 297.

Bashir improved in the second stage the following day and qualified for the eight-man final in sixth place with a total of 578. In the final he produced a composed performance to finish third and claim the bronze medal.

Reports differ slightly on the size of the field, with figures of 27 and 28 shooters both quoted; the difference does not affect Bashir's result.

A depleted Pakistani team

The medal was all the more notable because only two Pakistani shooters competed in Japan. The Express Tribune reported on 30 September 2026 that several members of the squad, including Asian shotgun gold medallist Farrukh Nadeem and Hangzhou 2023 bronze medallist Kishmala Talat, could not take part. Officials linked the problem to late paperwork for a National Olympic Committee approval, and the National Rifle Association of Pakistan said a missed flight had left too little time to organise the transport of ammunition.

Rabia Kabir competed in the women's 25m pistol but did not progress, leaving Bashir as Pakistan's only realistic medal chance in the sport.

A career built on consistency

Bashir is a Master Chief Petty Officer and physical training instructor in the Pakistan Navy. He has represented Pakistan at three Olympic Games and won bronze at the 2022 ISSF World Championship in Cairo.

His Aichi-Nagoya bronze followed Kishmala Talat's breakthrough medal at Hangzhou 2023, which was the first by a Pakistani shooter at the Asian Games. Together, the two results suggest Pakistani shooting can compete at continental level when its athletes are given the chance to take the line.

The bronze was one of ten medals Pakistan won at the Games, the country's best total since 2002. It also raises an obvious question for administrators: how many more medals might have been possible had the full shooting squad been able to compete?