Olympics shooting

French National Shooting Centre: Manu Bhaker gave the Indian shooting contingent a reason to smile in the end, qualifying for the final of the Women's 10m Air Pistol event on Day One of the Paris 2024 Olympics Shooting competition, at the French National Shooting Centre range in Chateauroux.

Manu’s qualifying score of 580 gave her third spot in the 44-strong field, as the top eight including topper Veronika Major (582) of Hungary, come back on Sunday for the final. This would be the Indian pistol ace’s first Olympic final.

On what was turning out to be a day of near misses for India, Manu’s performance in the final event of the day brought confidence. Manu shot consistently well throughout the 60-shot qualification, staying above the cut line for the entire length. Compatriot Rhythm Sangwan shot 573 to finish 15th and missed out by four points.