Manu Bhaker reached her third final in as many events at the Paris 2024, breaking new ground for Indian shooting at the Olympics and setting up the chance for an unprecedented third medal.
India at Paris Olympics 2024 LIVE: Manu Bhaker aims to win third medal
No other Indian shooter has reached more than one final at a single Olympics, and only the great Abhinav Bindra has made three Olympic shooting finals for India, across three Games.
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Manu made it three out of three by qualifying for the women's 25m pistol final in second place with a total of 590 (out of 600). The 22-year-old shot a total of 294 in the precision round and 296 in the rapid round of the day-long two-stage qualification on Friday.
Already in the last week, she has won bronze medal in women's 10m air pistol and the 10m pistol mixed team event with Sarabjot Singh. She now has a chance to become the greatest Indian shooter with three Olympic medals. But even if she doesn't finish on the podium on Saturday, Manu has written one of the most magnificent redemption stories in Indian sport.
From a 19-year-old in Tokyo who failed to make the final in all three of her events, questioned over competing in all three events and being made the face of the entire contingent's failure, the Haryana shooter has risen to become the face of Indian shooting's success in Paris.
Esha Singh, the other Indian in the field, finished 18th with a total of 581.
The 25m sport pistol is an event which tests both speed and precision, unlike the air pistol. The major factor of difference though is the final format, where the scoring system changes from a points-based system to a hit-or-miss system in the final. A shot of 10.2 or higher counts as a hit.
Manu, whose biggest medals have come in air pistol, is a solid shot in the sport pistol event too, winning World Cup bronze medals.
On Saturday, she can the chance to go (again) to a place where no Indian has gone before, completing a hat-trick of medals at one Olympics.