Slowing her breath and focusing on a bullseye in her pistol’s sights, Kishmala Talat is aiming to become the first woman from Pakistan to win an Olympic medal.
At the Paris Games starting on July 26, Talat will compete in the 10m air pistol and 25m pistol events, going for glory abroad and defying stereotypes back home.
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Pakistan’s medal prospects are undercut by modesty codes which dissuade women from participating in sport.
The 21-year-old Talat, who comes from a military family, is the first Pakistani woman to qualify for Olympic shooting.
“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 said.
“I see no one as competition. I compete with myself,” she told AFP at a target range in the eastern city of Jhelum.
‘Wanted to do more’
Talat has won dozens of medals at national level and four internationally, including Pakistan’s first shooting medal ever, a bronze, at the Asian Games last year.
Pakistan have only ever won 10 Olympic medals — all by men — and none since the 1992 Games.
Talat, who has just completed her university degree in communications, realistically faces an uphill task to get on the podium in Paris.
She has a global ranking of 37th in the 10m event and is 41st in the 25m, according to the International Shooting Sport Federation.
“I longed for recognition. I wanted to do more,” she said.
