Indian shooting sensation Manu Bhaker missed out on creating history as she couldn't secure her third Olympic as she finished fourth in the Women's 25m Air Pistol Final at the Paris Olympics 2024.
There were high hopes for Bhaker to go for another medal after she clinched two bronze medals in the women's 10m air pistol and mixed team 10m air pistol with Sarabjot Singh. The 22-year-old set her eyes on creating history by becoming the first Indian athlete to win three Olympic medals in a single edition of the Summer Games.
Bhaker qualified for the Womenโs 25m Air Pistol final by finishing second in the qualification round with 590 points. In the final, the Haryana shooter was in the top three after five series and seemed assured of a silver medal.
However, Bhaker faced a third-place shoot-off against Veronika Major and fell short by just one point, eventually finishing in fourth place. It was a heartbreaking moment for Manu Bhaker as he missed out a bronze medal by whisker.
Despite Manu Bhaker missing out on winning her third Olympic medal, fans applauded the Indian shooter for a sensational run at the Paris Olympics 2024. Fans took their X handle (formerly Twitter) and lavished praise on Manu Bhaker's remarkable campaign at the ongoing Summer Games.
Here's how netizens lauded Manu Bhaker's campaign at Paris Olympics
Manu Bhaker might not have created history of becoming the first Indian athlete to win three medals in the single edition of the Olympics, but she has already achieve several Indian records before the 25m air pistol event.
Bhaker is the first Indian woman athlete to win an Olympic medal when she won a bronze in 10m air pistol. She also became the first woman athlete from India to win two medals at the Summer Games and the first Indian athlete to achieve this feat in a single edition of the Summer Games.
Manu Bhaker overcomes Tokyo setback to attain glory in Paris
With two Olympic medals in her second Summer Games appearance in Paris, Manu Bhaker has finally removed the stains of her significant setback that she had to endured at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
At the Tokyo Summer Games, Manu Bhaker's pistol malfuctioned during the qualification round of the women's 10m air pistol. Thus, she had lost precious six times and ultimately, the Indian shooter failed to qualify for the final after finishing 12th with 575 points from 14 shots.
Bhaker also participated in the women's 25m air pistol and mixed team 10m air pistol events but did not win medals in either event.
Despite setback in the previous edition of the Olympics, Manu Bhaker has remained among the medal hopefuls for India in Paris Summer Games.
