ISLAMABAD, Dec 10 (APP): The shooting range at Pakistan Ordnance Factory in Wah is a world away from the roar of packed cricket stadiums. Here, success is measured not in sixes and wickets, but in millimeters and breath control. It was in this atmosphere of disciplined silence that Mohsin Nawaz, a young man from Faisalabad, discovered his life’s calling in 2004.

Twenty years later, Nawaz has become something unprecedented in Pakistani sport: the country’s most decorated F-Class shooter, a trailblazer who has won 10 international medals without the institutional support that typically accompanies such achievement. In March 2026, he will become the first civilian shooter to receive the Tamgha-e-Imtiaz, a recognition that feels both overdue and revolutionary.

P.G. Wodehouse once quipped that shooting’s fascination depends entirely on whether you’re at the right or wrong end of the gun. For Nawaz, staying at the right end has meant rewriting the rules of what’s possible for Pakistani athletes competing on their own terms.

Unlike most elite athletes, Nawaz’s journey has been marked by independence rather than institutional backing. Competing largely as a self-funded shooter, he has navigated a landscape where import taxes on essential equipment remain prohibitively high and proper training facilities are scarce. Yet these obstacles have only sharpened his resolve. He stands today as the first Pakistani to earn Life Membership with the National Rifle Associations of both the UK and the USA, distinctions that speak to his standing in institutions that guard their standards jealously.

His international breakthrough came in 2016 at Montana’s Rocky Mountain Championship, where he secured second place in the 800-yard category. But it was 2018 that marked Pakistan’s arrival on the global long-range shooting stage when Nawaz won the country’s first gold medal in NRA US long-range shooting, a victory that went largely unnoticed in a nation transfixed by cricket scores and political theater. The medals kept coming with remarkable consistency.

In 2019, he claimed silver at the CIHPRS Shooting Championship in Indianapolis, demonstrating that his breakthrough was no fluke. The following year brought another silver at the prestigious Bisley competition. Then came 2021 and a bronze at the South Africa Long Range Open, each medal adding to a tally that no Pakistani shooter had ever approached.

But 2022 marked Nawaz’s most dominant performance on the international stage. At the 68th Western Bisley Long Range Championship, he hauled an extraordinary three gold and two silver medals in a single competition, a feat that announced his arrival among the sport’s elite. This wasn’t just success; it was dominance at a level that demanded global recognition.

His European campaign has been equally impressive. At the 2023 European Long Range Shooting Championship, he won silver in the 800-yard category, cementing his reputation across multiple continental circuits. The 2024 season saw him maintain this standard with a silver medal at the 155th NRA UK Imperial Championship in the 300-yard category, followed by both a silver in the Day One Aggregate and bronze in the 1000-yard event at the European Championship. That bronze marked his 10th international podium finish, the highest tally for any Pakistani in F-Class shooting history.

To maintain this elite standard, Nawaz has been training in South Africa under the mentor ship of 2023 World Champion Hermann Rolfes, a partnership that speaks to the respect he commands in international shooting circles. His credentials extend beyond competition through ambassadorships with Peregrine Bullets and Kahles Optics, roles that position him as Pakistan’s representative in a global community that values precision and consistency above all else.

Domestically, Nawaz has been equally formidable, though his achievements have received far less attention than they merit. He claimed gold at the 35th PARA Army Shooting Championship, then repeated the feat at the 39th edition, establishing himself as the dominant force in Pakistani shooting. His victory at the 2nd Muhammad Ali Jinnah All Pakistan Shooting Championship further solidified this status.

Most recently, in November 2025 at the 3rd F-Class National Long Range Shooting Championship in Jhelum, Nawaz set two new national records that redefined the standards for Pakistani shooters. His performance in the 200-meter .22 ELR event and the FTR 300-meter category established benchmarks that will challenge competitors for years to come.

What sets Nawaz apart is not just his technical skill but his understanding of the psychological landscape of elite sport. A seasoned sports psychologist and emotional well being coach, he approaches shooting as much as a mental discipline as a physical one. “Mental strength is the real weapon,” he told officers at a recent ICT Police Shooting Competition, where he appeared as a guest of honor. “The quality of our thoughts determines the quality of our life.”

This philosophy has not only guided his own career but is now shaping how he mentors the next generation. His dual credentials as a certified sports psychologist and nutritionist inform an approach that treats athletes as complete systems rather than simply physical performers. At competitions, he spends as much time counseling younger shooters on mental preparation as he does refining his own technique.

Yet Nawaz remains acutely aware of the structural barriers that prevent more Pakistanis from following his path. He advocates passionately for the creation of accessible 50-meter ranges in major cities and reform of import policies that make equipment costs prohibitive. These aren’t abstract concerns but lived realities for a shooter who has largely funded his own international campaigns.

As Pakistan’s sporting landscape continues to evolve, Nawaz’s journey offers an alternative narrative to the federation-backed model. His success suggests that excellence, particularly in niche sports, can emerge from individual determination and self-investment. The question is whether the country’s sporting infrastructure will evolve to support such athletes before or after they achieve international recognition.

For now, Nawaz continues his preparations for the 2026 World Championship, training in South Africa, refining his mental approach, and carrying the weight of representing a country that is only beginning to understand what he has achieved. In the quiet intensity of the shooting range, far from the noise and spectacle of mainstream sport, he is building something that may prove more enduring: a template for how Pakistani athletes can compete at the highest levels on their own terms.

The fascination of shooting, Wodehouse suggested, depends on which end of the gun you’re on. Mohsin Nawaz has spent two decades proving that from the right end, you can hit targets that seemed impossibly distant and in doing so, expand the boundaries of what’s possible for Pakistani sport.