It was heartbreaking for double-medalist Manu Bhaker as she finished a close fourth in her favourite 25 m Pistol event for women on Aug. 3 at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
Manu Bhaker, who made history as the first Indian woman shooter to win an Olympic medal, lost a bronze medal shoot-out to Major Veronika after the two shooters were tied at 28 points each. Major Veronika fired three in the shootout, while Manu Bhaker, due to a lapse in concentration, could only score two, resulting in a fourth place finish.
Though Manu has every reason to be pleased with her performance in her second Olympics following a barren 2020 Tokyo Games, she hoped to finish on the podium in Paris. Luck, however, eluded her at the last minute.
Korea’s Ying Jin maintained a lead from the start while Manu Bhaker trailed local girl, Camille Jedrzejewski and Major Veronika. With Major Veronika, it was a neck-and-neck battle. At the end of the elimination round, Manu and Major Veronika were locked at 28 points each while Camille surged ahead and competed against the Korean for the gold medal.
In the final shoot-out for the gold medal, Yang Jin beat Camille 3-1. For the bronze, Veronika beat Manu 3-2.
An Olympic Games performance that will live on with us for years to come. Well done, @realmanubhaker
— Team India (@WeAreTeamIndia) August 3, 2024
Narrowly misses out on another medal as she finishes 4th after a shoot off in the 25M Pistol Event.
2 Bronze Medals to celebrate @paris2024 #JeetKiAur | #Cheer4Bharat pic.twitter.com/zNDgURJkO8
On Day 8 of the Olympics, members of the Indian contingent experienced more disappointments than cheers. Besides Manu missing her third medal in the same Olympics, Indian archers Deepika Kumar and Bhajan Kaur also bowed out of the medal hunt. Deepika lost to Korea's Nam Suhyeon 4-6 in the quarterfinals, while Bhajan Kaur was eliminated in the pre-quarterfinals by her Indonesian opponent Diananda Choirunisa in a shootout after the two archers were tied 5-5.
In the qualifying round, she had given an excellent account of herself with a score of 590, just two points behind the leader Major Veronika. Things took a turn when the shoot for medals was held today.
On day 8 of the competitions, India was still hanging on its tally of three bronze medals, all won in shooting.
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