Qatari men skeet shooters disappointed their fans when all of them crashed out during the qualification round of the Asian Championships at the Lusail Shooting Range on Sunday.

They thus blew their chances of making it to the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

The tough competition and poor weather combined to make life difficult for Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah, Rashid and Masoud Hamad Al Athba, who exited after faltering in an eight-way shoot-off to decide five of the six finalists.

Kuwait’s 56-year-old shooter Abdulla Al Rashidi had earlier qualified for the gold medal round as the top competitor.

While the three Qataris missed a shot each, competitors from India, China, Kazakhstan and Kuwait held their nerve to secure final berths. With only three Olympic quotas on offer, it was imperative the Qatari shooters make the final. That was not to be.

While Angad Vir Singh Bajwa (56, S-Off: 6) and Mairaj Ahmad Khan (56, S-off: 5) made it a one-two for India, Kuwait’s Saud Habib (45) finished third. All three made the cut for Tokyo.

But there was a silver lining to Qatar’s dark cloud on the day as the trio won team gold (360), thanks to their high scores in the qualification rounds. Kuwait (358) and Kazakhstan (357) finished next.

Al Attiyah was disappointed with his efforts in the individual category, but did not rule out a chance of making it to Tokyo.

“It’s truly sad we couldn’t get a berth for the Olympics. There were a lot of expectations, but we couldn’t do it. We’re hoping for a wild card now. It’s the only way we can now get to the Games,” he told Inside Qatar.

The ace shooter said the weather, which changed drastically past noon, proved to be a huge hurdle.

“It was raining, there was a sandstorm and strong winds – it affected all competitors. Eight shooters were in the qualifying shoot-off and it was very tough conditions,” he said.

Al Attiyah was however happy that the team did well.

“Winning a gold at the Asian Championships isn’t easy. We’ve a very good team and I’m happy with our performance,” he said.

In women’s skeet, Reem Al Sharshani finished 18th with a score of 107. Her team-mates Hajar Ghulam Mohammed and Hanan Ali Haji were 22nd and 23rd respectively.

While skeet shooters were in sharp focus on the day, Qatar’s Mhamud Amal Mohammed’s performance in 10M running Target for women almost went unnoticed. She narrowly missed a bronze medal, going down 2-6 to South Korea’s Ri Ji Ye.