Shooting: Manu Bhaker advances to the final after placing third in the 10m Air Pistol Women's Qualification

After placing third in the qualifying event on Saturday with an outstanding total score of 580-27x, Ace Indian shooter Manu Bhaker's card on Saturday guaranteed a spot in the women's 10m Air Pistol event final. In a field of 45 athletes, Bhaker fired 27 inner tens (27x) after getting off to a great start and maintaining consistency throughout. She received a score of 97/100 in the first set of ten strokes, seven of which were inner 10. In the second series, the 22-year-old Indian shooter scored an additional 97 points, repeating her previous feat.

With 292/300 at the midway point of the six-series competition, Manu was in a strong position to finish in the top eight and go to the finals. After placing fifth in the women's 25-meter pistol event at the 2023 Asian Shooting Championships, Bhaker was awarded an Olympic quota for India for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. Bhaker, who set a Commonwealth Games record in the women's 10m air pistol event on the Gold Coast in 2018, is the youngest Indian to earn a gold medal at an ISSF World Cup.

Bhaker has made an incredible comeback, qualifying for the final of the Paris Olympics three years after the heartbreaking experience of the Tokyo Olympics. For the young shooter who had thought about quitting the sport a while back, this is a major return. She had a really unforgettable path to the final. Throughout the qualifying rounds, she showed her talent, leading to an exceptional result. Bhaker  finished her sixth and last series with a strong score of 96, raising her total to 580-27x. Bhaker scored 97, 97, 98, 96, and 96 in her prior rounds, therefore her performance was steady in achieving this level.