Paris: Manu Bhaker on Friday qualified for the final of the 25 women’s pistol event at the Paris Olympics 2024 by finishing second in the qualification with a score of 590-24x. Bhaker will aim for her third medal at the ongoing Paris Olympics in the women’s 25m pistol final at 1 PM IST on Saturday (3 August).
India’s Esha Singh missed out on the final by finishing 18th with a score of 581-17x.
Only the top eight shooters from the qualification progress to the final and the cutoff score in the qualification on Friday was 585.
The 22-year-old Manu was brilliant throughout the 25m pistol women’s precision qualification and maintained her position in the top three. She finished second with a score of 590-24x to finish in the top eight. India’s other participant Esha Singh was poor with her shots from the beginning and finished 18th with a total score of 581-17x.
Hungary’s Major Veronika finished at the top with just a two-point lead over Bhaker and levelled the previous Olympic record of 592 in the 25m pistol women’s precision event. Bhaker was third in the standings after the first and second series played in the qualification.
Bhaker jumped to the second position during the third series where she shot nine 10s in precision and seven 10s in rapid rounds. She registered a 197 score in the first series and 196 in the second series before wrapping up her brilliant performance with a score of 197 in the final series.
She became the first-ever Indian to reach the finals of any Olympic event three times. If she manages to win a medal in the finals on Saturday, Bhaker will become the first Indian to clinch three medals in a single edition of the Summer Olympic Games.
Manu Bhaker’s two medals, both bronze, at the Paris Olympics 2024 so far have come in 10m air pistol individual and 10m air pistol missed team events. The 22-year-old shooter from Haryana will now look to change the colour of her medal on Saturday.
Hungary’s Veronika Major finished at the top of the qualification with a score of 592-28x which was just two points more than Bhaker is also the new European qualification record in women’s 25m pistol event.
Iran’s Haniyeh Rostamiyan finishes third with a score of 588-18X.