At the Paris Games, India’s Manu Bhaker came very close to winning her third medal but eventually fell short of winning a third Olympic medal. The 22-year-old ended on the fourth place in the women’s 25m pistol final, just missing out on the bronze medal.
Manu finished in the top five of a hotly contested final, but lost the bronze medal shoot-off to Hungary’s Veronika Major.
Manu is the only shooter to win 2 medals in a single Olympics
Manu Bhaker made history as the only Indian to win two shooting medals in the same Olympics campaign. She won the 10m air pistol bronze medal, then teamed up with Sarabjot Singh to win the mixed team 10m air pistol bronze. She then made it even more memorable by reaching the final of the 25m pistol event after finishing second in the qualification round.
Also read: Paris Olympics: Manu Bhaker eyes elusive third medal
Manu started on a strong note in the final
Manu started the final on a high note, keeping himself in contention for a gold. The final was a heated competition amongst young shooters. In Stage 1, each shooter had three five-shot series. A shooter will receive a point only if she shoots more than 10.2.
Manu started with two points in the first series. She then followed up with two runs of four shots apiece to get into the top three positions before the elimination round began.
Manu Bhaker then shot three and finished with a flawless series. The amazing fifth series propelled her into the top three, giving India hope for another medal, a historic third one.
Manu shot four in the sixth series and four more in the seventh series, tying for third place with Hungary’s Major Veronika, who equalled the qualifying Olympic record on Friday.
Also read: Paris: Lakshya Sen makes history; enters Men’s singles semis
Manu admitted to being nervous in the final
Manu Bhaker, who admitted to being nervous in the final, got just two points in the shoot-off for the bronze medal, while Major Veronika scored four to finish third.
Manu was disappointed to end in the fourth place in the 25m pistol event, but remained optimistic about the future.
