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India’s ace pistol shooter Manu Bhaker lived up to everyone’s expectations as she bettered her world record in the women’s 25m pistol category with a score of 47/50 to secure the top spot in the ongoing Olympic Selection Trials (OST T1) at Karni Singh Shooting Range in Delhi.
Though Manu was at the third spot overnight in the final, behind Esha Singh and Simranpreet Brar, she climbed to the top spot, shooting her best score of 47 out of a possible 50.
Manu looked impressive enough in the final, shooting perfect rounds of five on seven instances while securing three fours. Her scores in the 10 series of five rapid-fire shots are 4,4,5,5,5,5,4,5,5 and 5.
Rhythm Sangwan finished second with 39/50, and Abhidnya Patil secured the third spot with 32. Three best scores out of four sets of trials will be taken into consideration - the likes of Esha Singh and Simranpreet Brar still have a chance. Brar clinched the fourth spot with 27 points, while Esha finished last with 23 points.
Manu Bhaker proves her worth; Bhanwala secures a win in men’s pistol
It’s important to note that the trio of Manu Bhaker, Rhythm, and Esha are contending for Paris Olympics 2024 berths not only in sports pistol but also in air pistol.
Interestingly, Manu Bhaker’s final score surpassed the current world record of 41 held by Korea’s Yang Jin. The final result will surely boost the confidence of Manu as she heads into the second trial (OST T2) scheduled to commence on April 21, Sunday.
In men’s Rapid Fire Pistol, Anish Bhanwala secured the third after the qualification round and emerged victorious in T1 with 33 points. He was followed by Vijayveer Sidhu (27) and Adarsh Singh (23). Overnight leader Bhavesh Shekhawat settled for fourth place (18) while Ankur Goel finished last with 10 points.
The same sequence of events will continue over the next two days for the second set of trials, with the third and fourth trials scheduled to take place in Bhopal in May 2024.
