Manu Bhaker (Getty Images) Two-time Olympic bronze medalist Manu Bhaker endured a heartbreaking close finish at the Asian Championships on Monday, losing in a thrilling shoot-out to settle for silver in the women’s 25m pistol, while compatriot Esha Singh added a bronze to India’s medal tally. The final was one of the toughest matches of the championship, Manu and Vietnam’s Nguyen Thuy Trang clashed in a thrilling duel. Both shooters finished regulation with the same score of 35, forcing a shootout in which Trang held her nerve and took the gold. The medal battle remained on a knife edge throughout as Trang, Manu, Esha and fellow Indian Olympian Rhythm Sangwan all battled for the top spot for most of the final. Esha got off to a good start, opening with a perfect five in the first series, while Manu and Trang managed four each. The standings changed after each series, reflecting the intense pressure of the competition. A flawless sixth set gave Trang a crucial two-point cushion, but the door opened again when she faltered in the seventh, hitting just one target. Manu and Esha took the opportunity to close the gap and reignite the competition. Esha briefly took the lead and led by 30 after the eighth set, but a dramatic turnaround followed in the ninth when she registered no hit, ending her gold hopes and taking her to a bronze medal. In the decisive final series, Manu hit three targets and Trang two, tying both scorers at 35 and setting up a nail-biting shootout. However, the Vietnamese marksman prevailed in the sudden-death stage, leaving Manu to settle for silver after coming within a touch of the top tier. Earlier in the day, Esha topped the qualifying round, which included precision and dueling phases, with an impressive 589. Manu followed closely behind with 584 as India’s three shooters advanced to the eight-man final. India also dominated the team event, with Esha, Manu and Sangwan combining for a total of 1,751 to claim the gold, ahead of Chinese Taipei (1,735) and Vietnam (1,729). Other successes were in the junior category where Naamya Kapoor claimed gold in the junior women’s 25m pistol final after another thrilling shootout. Kapoor, already the youngest Indian woman to win a World Championship medal, tied with Indonesia’s Rihadatul Asyifa for 29th in regulation before recording three hits in the shoot-off as her opponent missed them all. Anjali Bhagwat secured the bronze with a score of 24, while the Indian junior team also finished on the podium in the team event.
