Irfan 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. This was also the first time that any of the Indian track and field athletes, had finished in the top 10 at the Olympics. He did not participate in the 2016 Rio Olympics though he had qualified, owing to a stress fracture.In Tokyo Olympics 2020, he finished a disappointing 51st with a timing of 1:34:41.