[1] Irfan[2] had competed in the Federation Cup at Patiala, clocking a personal best of 1:2:09 in 2012.

At the London 2012 Olympics, he set the Indian national record in the 20 km walk with a timing of 1:20:21 and ranked 10th.

In March 2013, Irfan finished 5th in the IAAF World 20 km Race Walking Challenge event held at Taicang, China.

KT Irfan qualified for Tokyo Olympics in the race walking event of athletics after finishing fourth in the 20 km event at the Asian Race Walking Championships[3] in Nomi, Japan.

KT Irfan was the first Indian from athletics to book a spot in the Tokyo Olympics.