Kishmala Talat is trying to be the first woman from Pakistan to earn an Olympic medal. She is slowing her breathing and concentrating on a bullseye in the sights of her pistol. Talat will compete in the 10m air pistol and 25m pistol categories at the Paris Games, which begin on July 26. He is aiming for glory overseas and bucking prejudices at home.
Sports participation by women is discouraged by modesty norms, which negatively impacts Pakistan’s chances of winning medals. Talat, a 21-year-old from a military family, is the first female Pakistani qualifier for the Olympic shooting competition.
“In Pakistan there’s a prevalent taboo that dictates girls should stay at home, do girly things, and play with dolls, while boys are to play with guns,” she explained.
“No one is a competitor in my eyes. I compete with myself,” she said to AFP while using a target range in Jhelum, an eastern city.
“Wanted to take on more”
Talat has garnered numerous medals both domestically and abroad, including the bronze medal in shooting at the Asian Games last year, which was Pakistan’s first-ever medal in the sport.
Only 10 Olympic medals have ever been won by Pakistan, all of them by men, and none of them since the 1992 Games.
It will be difficult for Talat, who recently graduated from college with a degree in communications, to reach the platform in Paris.
The International Shooting Sport Federation lists her as ranked 37th globally in the 10m event and 41st in the 25m.
“I yearned for approval. Her words, “I wanted to do more,”
“I wanted that whenever shooting is discussed, or ‘Kishmala’ is mentioned, it would be associated with someone who did something great for Pakistan.”
She trains for ten hours a day, consisting of one hour of physical activity and four hours each on the 10m and 25m ranges, in the hopes of defying the odds.
She spends the last hour of the evening meditating, focusing on a candle’s flickering light in an effort to develop the zen necessary to locate her target. “I am dedicated to giving my best performance to let Pakistan’s name shine,” Talat stated.
With her spare hand tucked into her pocket and one eye shielded by custom-fit glasses, her demeanor is expressionless as she takes her shots. Target shooting as a sport is not very popular in Pakistan.
The most popular hobby is undoubtedly cricket, but persistent underfunding affects other sports. Still, firearms are commonplace in Pakistan. In 2017, the Small Arms Survey, a Swiss weapons research group, projected that 44 million civilians in Pakistan owned guns, whether legal or illicit.
With 22 firearms per 100 people, the country of more over 240 million people has the fourth-highest rate in the world.
“City of Martyrs”
Pakistan’s military has fostered Talat’s talent. Talat receives training at a military facility in Jhelum, dubbed the “City of Martyrs” due to its close ties to the armed forces, from commanders and a foreign coach.
Her hometown is Rawalpindi, the garrison city housing the military’s headquarters. Samina Yaqoob, her 53-year-old mother, is a major in the nursing service of the armed forces and has her daughter’s numerous medals on display in the family living room.
Yaqoob used to have ambitions of competing. “I got married and got busy with that life, but it makes me happy when I see my daughter move forward with my dream,” she stated.
“Girls should step forward, observe, work diligently and their parents should support them,” stated the mother. “She thinks she can accomplish anything. She just is that way.”
