2024 Paris Olympics: Shooter Manu Bhaker gains women's 25m qualification
India's ace shooter Manu Bhaker has qualified for the women's 25m pistol main event at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Bhaker, who has already handed India two bronze medals in the ongoing event, is in line to make history by winning a third medal. Bhaker was placed 3rd in the precision stage of qualification before moving to second spot in the rapid round.
Bhaker gets into her zone in precision stage of qualification
In the precision stage of qualification Bhaker had a tough start in the first five shots, but recovered well to to finish with five 10s in a row. She scored 97 in the first series and was 12th. Bhaker brought improvement in her game as she improved to 98 in the second series. She moved up to seventh in the standings (195 points).
3rd series: Bhaker manages an impressive 99
In the third series, Bhaker managed an impressive 99 as she took her total to 294. Bhaker was tied with the top two shooters. However, she was placed third with lesser inner 10s.
What happened in the rapid round?
Bhaker clocked a perfect 100/100 to start off the rapid stage and went up to the second spot in the standings. She managed a score of 98 in the second rapid series. The third series saw her manage a score of 96.
Here are the top 3 finishers
Veronika Major of Hungary finished first with a total of 592. In the precision stage, she managed 294 before shooting 298 in the rapid round. Bhaker with 590 was next ahead of third-placed Haniyeh Rostamiyan of Iran (588).
Bhaker has already bagged two medals at the Paris Olympics
22-year-old Bhaker finished third in the women's 10m air pistol final and claimed a bronze medal. She became the first-ever Indian woman to claim an Olympic medal in shooting. Thereafter, Bhaker and Sarabjot Singh prevailed in the 10m air pistol mixed team bronze medal match. Manu and Sarabjot won the coveted medal after beating the Korean duo of OH Ye Jin and LEE Wonho.
Record made by Bhaker
Manu became India's first-ever athlete to win multiple medals at an Olympics post independence. Norman Pritchard was the first Indian to do so, in 1900, when India first participated at the Olympic Games. The country was under the British rule back then.
Esha Singh misses out on women's 25m pistol qualification
Fellow Indian shooter Esha Singh managed a score of 291 in the precision stage earlier. She was placed 10th at the end of the precision round. In the rapid round, Esha was going well in her first series but fired two 9s with her final two shots. In the second round, she shot 96 out of a possible 100, dropping to 14th.
Esha shot 97 in the 3rd round
In the 3rd round, Esha shot 97 to end with a total score of 581. This wasn't enough as she missed out a top-8 berth and hence qualification for the main event. She finished 18th.
