Kamal Ghorui
Olympic double bronze medallist Manu Bhaker endured a heartbreakingly close finish at the Asian Championship on Monday, settling for silver in the women’s 25m pistol after losing a tense shoot-off, while compatriot Esha Singh added to India’s medal tally with a bronze. The final was one of the tightest contests of the championship, with Manu and Vietnam’s Nguyen Thuy Trang locked in a gripping duel. Both shooters finished regulation with identical scores of 35, forcing a shoot-off in which Trang held her nerve to clinch gold. The medal battle remained on a knife-edge throughout, with Trang, Manu, Esha and fellow Indian Olympian Rhythm Sangwan all in contention for the top spot for much of the final. Esha made a strong start, opening with a perfect five in the first series, while Manu and Trang managed four each. The standings kept shifting after every series, reflecting the intense pressure of the contest. A flawless sixth series gave Trang a crucial two-point cushion, but the door reopened when she faltered in the seventh, hitting just one target. Manu and Esha seized the opportunity to close the gap and reignite the contest. Esha briefly took charge and led with a score of 30 after the eighth series, but a dramatic turn followed in the ninth when she failed to register a hit, ending her gold hopes and consigning her to the bronze medal. In the decisive final series, Manu struck three targets and Trang two, levelling both shooters on 35 and setting up a nail-biting shoot-off. The Vietnamese shooter, however, prevailed in the sudden-death phase, leaving Manu to settle for silver after coming within touching distance of the top step. Earlier in the day, Esha had topped the qualification round, which included the precision and duelling stages, with an impressive 589. Manu followed closely with 584 as three Indian shooters progressed to the eight-athlete final. India also dominated the team event, with Esha, Manu and Sangwan combining for a total of 1,751 to claim gold, ahead of Chinese Taipei (1,735) and Vietnam (1,729). There was further success in the junior category, where Naamya Kapoor clinched gold in the 25m pistol junior final after another tense shoot-off. Kapoor, already the youngest Indian to win a World Championship medal, tied with Indonesia’s Rihadatul Asyifa on 29 in regulation before producing three hits in the shoot-off as her rival missed all. Anjali Bhagwat secured the bronze with a score of 24, while the Indian junior team also finished atop the podium in the team event.
