Manu Bhaker Advances to Third Final at Paris Olympics 2024

Paris:  India’s shooting sensation Manu Bhaker secured her place in the women’s 25m pistol final at the Paris Olympics 2024, marking her third final at these Games. Bhaker finished second in the qualification round, amassing a total of 590 points across precision and rapid rounds, just two points behind Hungary’s Veronika Major, who matched the Olympic qualification record with 592 points.

Esha Singh, another Indian competitor in the event, placed 18th and did not advance to the final. Bhaker, who has already claimed two bronze medals in the women’s 10m air pistol and mixed 10m air pistol events, is now a strong contender for her third medal in Paris.

Despite a rocky start in the precision round, where she only managed two 10s out of her first five shots, Bhaker quickly regained her form. She scored five consecutive 10s to conclude the first series, demonstrating her resilience.

In the second series, Bhaker’s performance improved as she started with three 10s and finished with eight 10s, achieving 98 points. Her precision only sharpened in the third series, where she hit nine 10s, narrowly missing a perfect score with a final shot of 9. This brought her precision round total to 294 points, placing her third due to a tie-break on inner 10s.

Bhaker excelled in the rapid round, starting with a flawless 100 in the first series. She maintained this momentum with four 10s out of five shots in the second series and secured another ten 10s, finishing second and comfortably advancing to the final.

Manu Bhaker will compete for another medal in the final, scheduled for August 3 at 1:30 PM IST.