Manu Bhaker Finishes Fifth as India Miss Women’s 10m Air Pistol Bronze by Inner-10 Count

Double Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker finished fifth in the women’s 10m air pistol final at the Asian Games here on Wednesday as India narrowly missed the team bronze medal after losing a tie-breaker to Vietnam.

Bhaker, 24, entered the individual final after qualifying third with a score of 579. She finished fifth in the eight-shooter final with 181.1 points, ending India’s medal hopes in the individual event.

Bhaker had won an individual bronze in the same event at the Paris Olympics and a mixed team bronze at the Games. She will next compete in the 25m pistol, where she is the defending champion.

Esha Singh, another Indian entrant, finished 15th in qualification with 572 points and did not advance to the final. Suruchi Singh placed 26th with a score of 568.

India also missed the women’s team bronze despite finishing level with Vietnam on 1,719 points. Vietnam secured third place on the basis of its higher inner-10 count, with 46 compared with India’s 44.

The result left India in fourth place in the team competition. The women’s team comprised Bhaker, Esha and Suruchi, who together recorded the 1,719-point total.

South Korea’s Choo Gaeun won the individual gold with 246.3 points, setting an Asian Games record in the event. China’s Shen Yiyao took the silver, while Jiang Ranxin won the bronze.

India has so far collected seven shooting medals at the Asian Games, including four silver and three bronze, according to the latest competition tally. The country is yet to win a gold in shooting at the Games.

Bhaker’s fifth-place finish came after she had secured one of the available spots in the individual final through qualification. Her next appearance will be in the 25m pistol competition as India continues its shooting campaign in Nagoya.

The women’s 10m air pistol event therefore ended without a medal for India in either the individual or team competition, with the team bronze decided by the inner-10 count after the scores were tied there.