Manu Bhaker misses historic third medal at Paris Olympics, finishes fourth in 25m air pistol final

India’s Manu Bhaker missed her historical third medal in the ongoing Paris Olympics after she finished fourth in the women’s 25m air pistol event. Indian shooter, who came up with one of her most memorable performances in her favourite event in the qualifying, had to settle for a fourth place at the Chateauroux shooting range on Saturday.

The 22-year-old, who has already made history by becoming the first Indian athlete to win two bronze medals in one edition of the quadrennial showpiece. Manu had earlier won the 10m women’s air pistol bronze and 10m air pistol mixed team bronze pairing Sarabjot Singh.

A remarkable feature of Manu’s purple patch has been her approach on the range, showing composure and maturity that belies her young age.

Manu Bhaker loves to have this food (Source: Manu Bhaker/AP)

Manu’s heroics had undoubtedly elevated her to the status of being one of India’s most successful — if not the most successful — Olympians. If the first final for Manu was about rectifying her mistakes at the Tokyo Olympics, the third will be forever etch her name in the history books. No Indian athlete has ever won three Olympic medals in individual events.

Wrestler Sushil Kumar (bronze at Beijing Olympics, silver at London) and P V Sindhu (silver in Rio, bronze in Tokyo) are the only two athletes who have multiple Olympic medals in individual events since India’s independence.

Manu, the second youngest Indian athlete to win an Olympic medal after shuttler PV Sindhu, had added that she looks up to ace javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra and Sindhu because they have “proved themselves”. India has won all three medals so far in shooting, with Manu bagging two and Swapnil Kusale taking the bronze in 50m rifle three-positions on Thursday.

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