Manu Bhaker takes aim at third medal, qualifies for 25m pistol final in second position
PARIS: "Please show me the same love even after the third event. Don't be angry if can't add another one." This was an euphoric Manu Bhaker a few minutes after she had won her second bronze medal at the Chatearoux Shooting Centre a few days back.
The 22-year-old can be sure of unwavering support from fans back home as she takes aim at a new record: that of becoming the first Indian to win three medals in one Olympics.
Manu, who seems to have conquered the inner demons that plotted her downfall in Tokyo, is now shooting like a world beater. Her rivals are feeling the heat.
On Friday, she again rewrote Indian shooting's record books by storming into the final of the women's 25m pistol event, finishing the qualification round in second place. It was a third straight final berth for Manu, who ended with a total of 590 points. She shot 294 in Precision and 296 in Rapid with a 24x.
Battling her in the final on Saturday will be Hungary's Veronika Major, who topped the table with a score of 592 points that equalled the Olympic record set by Jingjing Zhang in 2016. The world record is in the name of Rhythm Sangwan, who scored 595 in Baku in 2023. Manu was in third position at the end of the Precision round with a total of 294 (97, 98, 99). She then changed gears to begin a perfect 100 and then added two scores of 98 and 98 to make the medal round.
Esha Singh, the second Indian in the fray, ended in 18th place with a score of 581 (17x). She opened with a total of 291 (95, 96, 100) in the first round and then added three more scores in the rapid round for a tally of 290 (97, 96, 97) that pulled her down the pecking order. The cut-off for eighth place in the final came at 585. That went to American Morgan Katelyn Abeln, who shot a total of 585.
Modest start for Naruka
In the men's skeet shooting qualification round, India's Anant Jeet Singh Naruka had a disappointing start as he fired scores of 23, 22 and 23 in the first three rounds. American Vincent Hancock leads the pack with three perfect rounds of 25, 25 and 25.
