New Delhi, Feb 9 (.) India’s ace shooter Manu Bhaker settled for Silver in the women’s 25m pistol event at the ongoing Asian Shooting Championships on Monday after going down to Vietnam’s Nguyen Thuy Trang in a tense shoot-off.
In the eight-woman final, Manu, a double medallist at the Paris 2024 Olympics, started cautiously but produced a strong late comeback to draw level with Trang at 35-35 after the regulation 50 shots, fired across 10 series of five each, as per Olympics.com.
The Indian shooter had earlier trailed the Vietnamese by three points after the fourth series.
The contest went into a tie-breaker after both shooters were locked at 2-2 in the first round. However, Trang edged ahead in the second round with a 3-2 scoreline to clinch the Gold, leaving Manu with Silver.
Notably, this was Manu Bhaker’s first-ever individual continental medal in the 25m pistol. Her previous three Asian medals, including two golds, had all come in the 10m air pistol discipline.
The Silver came as a morale booster for Manu after a mixed campaign earlier in the championships. She finished seventh in the individual 10m air pistol event but played a key role in India’s gold medal-winning team effort. In the 10m air pistol mixed team event, however, she failed to qualify for the final.
Meanwhile, fellow Olympian Esha Singh, who had already been crowned Asian champion in the women’s 10m air pistol earlier in the competition, secured the Bronze medal in the 25m pistol event on Sunday with a score of 30. Another Indian shooter, Rhythm Sangwan, narrowly missed out on the podium, finishing fourth with 27.
In the qualification round, Esha Singh topped the standings with 589 (24x), followed by Manu Bhaker with 584 (18x). Rhythm Sangwan placed eighth with 578 (22x), while Abhidnya Ashok Patil finished ninth with 578 (9x), competing for Ranking Points Only (RPO).
The Indian trio of Esha, Manu, and Rhythm also combined to win the women’s 25m pistol team gold, registering a cumulative score of 1751. Chinese Taipei and Vietnam claimed the Silver and Bronze medals, respectively.
With Monday’s results, India’s medal tally in senior events at the championships rose to 15 including eight Gold, four Silver, and three Bronze.
The Asian Shooting Championships, featuring only rifle and pistol events, are being organised by the Asian Shooting Confederation and will conclude on February 13 at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range.
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