Qatar’s trap shooters came up with steady performances on the first day of the Asian Championships, keeping alive the nation’s hopes of earning a berth for the Tokyo Olympics.

Rashid Al Athba was placed ninth in the men’s trap after three rounds of shooting at the end of the first day. His compatriot Mohammed Al Rumaihi was in 14th place. Qatar’s third representative in the event, Saeed Abusharib struggled on the day to be placed 35th.

Al Athba had a good three rounds with scores of 24, 24 and 23 for a total of 71 out of 75. Al Rumaihi had two rounds of 23 and followed it up with a 24 to finish at 70. Abusharib shot 24, 23 and 21 for a total of 68.

Naser Meqlad of Kuwait shot a brilliant 75 to be in lead on day one. Two more rounds will be fired on Wednesday in the qualification before the finalists are decided.

Qatar’s Noora Essa Al Ali was in 16th place in the women’s trap after the first three rounds. She had scores of 21, 22 and 24 for a total of 67. Qatar’s Kholoud Khalaf Hassan and Amna Al Abdullah were placed 27th and 28th respectively. Kholoud shot 19, 24 and 18 while Amna had scores of 20, 19 and 21.

In women’s 10M air pistol, Qatar’s shooters finished outside the top 20.

Aldana Saad Al Mubarak ended 22 with a score of 568 while Nasra Mahmoud finished 25th with 567. Saoud Al Khater (534) was 54th.

“It was not my best score,” said Aldana whose best is 569. “But considering the competition I think I fared well.”

Aldana will also take part in the 25M pistol which is scheduled for Thursday.

In the men’s 25M rapid fire pistol, Qatar’s Ahmad Atal Shamari was 19th after Stage 1 of the competition with 284. His compatriot Mohd Hassan Al Tamimi was 36th with a score of 257.

In the mixed team trap event, Qatar’s