Manu Bhaker Falls Short in Thrilling Olympic Shoot-Out

Manu Bhaker narrowly missed out on a bronze in the women's 25m sports pistol event at the Olympics, losing a tie-shoot to Hungary's Veronika Major. Bhaker showed resilience throughout the finals but ultimately fell short, adding to India's history of near-misses in shooting events.

Manu Bhaker's bid for a historic treble at the Olympic Games ended in heartbreak after she lost a tie-shoot for the bronze medal in the women's 25m sports pistol event to Hungary's Veronika Major by the narrowest of margins.

Bhaker, who briefly held the No.1 position among eight shooters in a high-quality final, showed remarkable resilience but failed to maintain consistency, eventually finishing outside the medal positions. Despite this, the 22-year-old will return home with twin bronzes in the women's 10m air pistol and the mixed team 10m air pistol events alongside partner Sarabjot Singh.

The competitive showdown saw Bhaker and Major tied after eight series of five shots, forcing a nerve-wracking shoot-off which saw Bhaker score three clear shots to Major's four, ultimately clinching the bronze for Hungary. Bhaker's performance echoes the fourth-place finishes of Indian shooters in previous Olympics, joining the ranks of Joydeep Karmakar, Abhinav Bindra, and Arjun Babuta.

(With inputs from agencies.)