Medal eludes Manu Bhaker as women disappoint in 10m air pistol
Manu Bhaker had three chances to stay alive in the women’s 10m air pistol final. She survived each one. But when the moment came to push for a medal, the Olympic medallist could not find the extra shot she needed.
Bhaker finished fifth in the final at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Wednesday, September 23, as India failed to defend the women’s individual and team gold medals they had won in the event at the 2022 Asian Games.
The 24-year-old, who qualified third for the final with a score of 579-20x, remained in the medal hunt deep into the elimination stages. She was in bronze-medal position when she began the sixth series with a stunning 10.8.
But the advantage lasted only one shot. Courtesy: PTI
Bhaker followed the 10.8 with a 9.6 and slipped out of the medal positions, finishing fifth with 181.1. She looked dejected as she walked away from the range, having come through several elimination scares but unable to make the final push for the podium.
The result means Bhaker is still waiting for her first individual Asian Games medal. She had won bronze in the same event at the Paris Olympics, along with another bronze in the mixed team event, but the Asian Games podium has continued to elude her.
South Korea’s Choo Gaeun won the gold with an Asian Games record of 246.3, while China’s Shen Yiyao and Jiang Ranxin completed the podium.10m AIR PISTOL DISAPPOINTS
For India, the disappointment had begun even before the final.
The women’s 10m air pistol team of Bhaker, Esha Singh and Suruchi Inder Singh missed out on a medal by the narrowest of margins. India and Vietnam finished level on 1719 points, but Vietnam had 46 inner-10s compared to India’s 44 and took the bronze. India had to settle for fourth.
It was a significant step down from Hangzhou 2022, where Palak Gulia and Esha Singh won individual gold and silver respectively, while the Indian women also captured team gold.
Bhaker was the only Indian to reach the individual final this time. Esha finished 15th in qualification with 572, while Suruchi was 26th with 568.SKEET WINS TEAM BRONZE
There was, however, some consolation for Indian shooting elsewhere at the range.
The women’s skeet team of Raiza Dhillon, Parinaaz Dhaliwal and Maheshwari Chauhan won bronze with a combined score of 331. Raiza and Parinaaz both shot 111, while Maheshwari contributed 109. China won gold and Kazakhstan took silver.
The skeet result also kept two Indian shooters in contention for an individual medal, with Raiza and Parinaaz qualifying for the individual final.
The men's skeet team followed up the bronze medal with another one later, where Anant Jeet Singh, Bhavteg Gill, Mahiraj Ahmad finished in the podium. Anant Jeet also qualified for the individual finals.
For Bhaker, though, the 10m air pistol campaign is over without a medal. There is still another opportunity. She will return to the range for the women’s 25m pistol event, where she is the defending Asian Games champion.IMPORTANT SHOOTING RESULTS
- Women’s 10m air pistol final: Manu Bhaker — 5th, 181.1
