Manu Bhaker Misses Gold by a whisker
New Delhi: The women’s 25m pistol final at the Asian Rifle/Pistol Championship produced high drama, with India’s Manu Bhaker narrowly missing the gold medal after a tense shoot-off. Competing at the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range, Manu lost to Vietnam’s Thuy Trang Nguyen after two shoot-offs, settling for silver.
The final saw frequent changes in medal positions, with Esha Singh starting strongly by firing a perfect five in the opening series. Manu and Nguyen remained locked in a close battle throughout, forcing the contest into a shoot-off after both finished tied on 35 points. In the decisive second shoot-off, Manu faltered, allowing Nguyen to clinch gold.
Esha Singh finished with the bronze medal, her second individual medal of the championship, after missing all shots in the ninth series. Rhythm Sangwan placed fourth. In the junior category, Namya Kapoor won gold in another shoot-off, while Anjali Bhagwat claimed bronze. India’s overall medal tally rose to 60, including 37 golds.
