Paris 2024: Manu Bhaker misses out on hat-trick of medals

India's Manu Bhaker finished fourth in the women's 25m pistol shooting event, concluding her campaign at the Olympic Games with two medals on Saturday. The 22-year-old shot 28 in the eight-women final, narrowly missing out on a hat-trick of medals after losing to Hungarian bronze medallist Veronika Major in the shoot-off.

Before Bhaker, no Indian athlete had won more than one medal at the same Olympics. In the qualification on Friday, Bhaker scored a total of 590 (294 in precision, 296 in rapid) out of 600, reaching her third final of these Olympics in second place.

Earlier, Bhaker won bronze in the individual 10m air pistol competition and, with Sarabjot Singh, claimed another bronze in the 10m air pistol mixed team event. Bhaker's second bronze made her the first Indian since Independence to win two medals at the same Olympic Games.

Bhaker was born on 18 February 2002 in Goria village, Jhajjar district, Haryana. Before taking up shooting at age 14, she excelled in various sports, including Huyen langlon, boxing, tennis, and skating, winning medals at the national level.

Bhaker gained international prominence with her debut in 2017, winning nine gold medals at the National Shooting Championships, including a record-breaking performance in the 10m air pistol final. In 2018, she won gold in the 10m air pistol event at the Youth Olympic Games, becoming the first Indian female shooter to do so. She also won gold in both individual and mixed team events at the ISSF World Cups and set a record at the 2018 Commonwealth Games with 240.9 points in the 10m air pistol final.

At the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, Bhaker won gold in the 25m pistol team event and continued her success with gold medals at the 2023 World Championships.

(With inputs from PTI)