India’s Manu Bhaker narrowly missed her third Olympic medal at the Paris Games. The 22-year-old placed fourth in the women’s 25m pistol final, just missing the bronze. In a highly competitive final, Manu secured a spot in the top 5 but lost the bronze in a shoot-off to Hungary’s Veronika Major.
The 22-year-old, who made history as the first Indian athlete to win two bronze medals in a single edition of the quadrennial event, had previously won bronze in the women’s 10m air pistol and the 10m air pistol mixed team event alongside Sarabjot Singh.
Manu Bhaker, who admitted feeling nervous in the final, scored just 2 in the shoot-off for the bronze medal, while Veronika Major scored 4 to secure third place. Despite being disappointed with her fourth-place finish in the 25m pistol event, Manu expressed confidence about her future prospects.
Manu will return home from Paris with two medals, joining the elite club of Indian athletes with 2 Olympic medals, alongside PV Sindhu and Sushil Kumar.