Manu Bhaker fifth in 25m pistol qualification

TIL Desk Sports/ India’s shooters Manu Bhaker and Rahi Sarnobat were placed fifth and 25th respectively in the Olympics women’s 25 metres pistol qualification (precision), at the Asaka Shooting Range in Tokyo, on Thursday.

In a field of 44 shooters, Bhaker scored 292 after 30 shots on target in the precision round while compatriot Sarnobat aggregated 287. The second stage of qualification — the rapid round — will take place on Friday.

The top-8 shooters in qualification will enter the final. Serbia’s Zorana Arunovic led the pack with 296 points, followed by Greece’s Anna Korakaki, who has 294.

In the third relay, Bhaker had a fine start. The 19-year-old shooter shot back-to-back 97s in the first two series. With just two 9s in the third, she accumulated 98 points to climb into the top-5. Bhaker came back strongly to score five 10s off her last five shots after three points in the second series.

Osijek World Cup gold medallist Sarnobat, who was in the first relay of 10 shooters, started the precision round with a 96 and followed it up with a 97. However, thanks to an 8 and a few 9s, she managed 94 in the final series of precision. Her total in the precision rounds was 287/300 which placed her 7th out of 10 in her relay.