Manu Bhaker wins 10m Pistol at National Selection Trials T3
Manu, who had just managed to qualify for the final as the eighth and last shooter, produced a strong performance in the medal round.
Manu, who had just managed to qualify for the final as the eighth and last shooter, produced a strong performance in the medal round.
India also struck gold in the women’s team event and picked up silver in the men’s team competition, taking the hosts’ overall tally to four medals — two gold, one silver and one bronze on the opening day of pistol finals.
Tilottama followed up her T1 victory with another assured performance in the T2 final, finishing with 361.5 after 35 shots.
Manu underlined her class in the senior final, shooting 36 to comfortably secure the gold medal.
Interestingly, deaf shooters fuelled India’s strong display at the Deaflympics, clinching a total of 16 medals, including 7 gold, 6 silver and 3 bronze medals.
After the completion of the Precision stage on Thursday, Esha stood fourth while Manu was placed seventh among the lineup of 85 shooters.
Indian shooting, which has enjoyed one of its most successful years, will be strongly represented in Doha with eight shooters qualifying across five of the 12 Olympic events.
Bhaker tallied 25 points, just four short of Vietnam’s Thu Vinh Trinh, who claimed bronze with 29. Compatriot Esha Singh also reached the final but ended sixth with 18 points.
As many as 734 shooters from 28 countries will compete in Kazakhstan. India has sent the largest contingent, comprising 164 shooters across senior and junior events, according to Olympics.com.
Double Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker is set to lead the senior Indian contingent at the upcoming 16th Asian Shooting Championship (ASC) Rifle/Pistol/Shotgun, scheduled in Shymkent, Kazakhstan between August 16 and 30, the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) announced on Monday.
