Double Olympics medallist Manu Bhaker failed to win a medal in the 10m air pistol event at the Asian Games 2026 on Wednesday
Updated: September 23, 2026, 3:06 PM IST
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India’s Manu Bhaker reacts during 10m air pistol event at Asian Games 2026(Photo: PTI)
Asian Games 2026: A lot was expected from Indian shooter Manu Bhaker, heading into the Asian Games 2026 after becoming the first Indian shooter to claim two medals at the Paris Olympics 2024 a couple of years backIn a shocking turn of result, Manu Bhaker returned empty handed from women’s 10m air pistol event – both in team as well as individual category – finishing in 5th place.
India also narrowly missed out on a medal in the team event, finishing in 4th place in the inner-10 countDouble Olympics medallist Manu Bhaker had qualified in third place for the final with a score of 579-20x, began the eight-shooter medal round stronglyShe scored 50.8 in the opening series and took her aggregate to 100.3 after the second series.
As the final moved into the elimination phase, Manu had 120.4 points after the first elimination stage and remained in medal contentionHer aggregate subsequently rose to 140.4 and then 160.7 before she finished on 181.1.
The 24-year-old star was eliminated after the fourth stage of the final, when four shooters remained in contention for the medals, leaving her fifth overallShe came out to speak to the media but broke down initially when asked about her late coach Jaspal Rana, who passed away shockingly earlier this year.
“If I remember all those years…it’s not that you remember once or twice, it stays with youWhen a person has been a big part of your life, it stays,” Manu Bhaker was quoted as saying by PTI news agency.
WATCH Manu Bhaker compose herself before speaking to the media HERE…
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Manu Bhaker opens up about handling pressure, learning from every shot and staying positive through the highs and lows of sport.
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Manu Bhaker had won the gold medal with the 25m air pistol team at the Asian Games 2023 in HangzhouShe had also won bronze medals in 10m air pistol individual event and 10m air pistol mixed team event at the Paris Olympics 2024.
“He was just so adamant on process always – that you have to be able to, any given day, any given point in your life, whenever you shoot, you have to be able to give your best performance and follow your process,” Manu Bhaker said about late coach Jaspal Rana.
I genuinely tried my best: Manu Bhaker
Manu had secured her place in the individual final by finishing third in qualification with 579 points, including 20 inner 10sIn the women’s 10m air pistol team event, India finished fourth after being edged out by Vietnam despite both teams recording an identical score of 1719.
“I genuinely tried my best and really feel that my performance was significantly better than what I have been facing, the challenges I’ve been facing in my training in Japan,” she said.
“I feel really sorry that I was not able to make it to the podium and I really hope that I’ll be able to do better,” Manu added.
The Indian trio of Manu Bhaker, Esha Singh and Suruchi Inder Singh registered 44 inner 10s, while Vietnam recorded 46 to claim the bronze medalChina won the team gold with 1735, while South Korea took silver with 1730Esha finished 15th in the individual qualification with 572-12x, while Suruchi placed 26th with 568-12x and did not qualify for the individual final.
Manu Bhaker and Esha Singh will return to the range in the women’s 25m Pistol event, while Suruchi will compete in the 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team eventWith more opportunities to challenge for the podium ahead, the trio will be determined to turn the experience of Wednesday into a strong finish at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
