Manu Bhaker and Suruchi Inder Singh are hesitant as India await Olympic quotas

India’s quest for an individual Olympic quota at the ISSF World Championships continued in India on Thursday after Manu Bhaker and Suruchi Inder Singh failed to build on their qualifying performances to finish on the podium in the women’s 10m air pistol event.

Manu, a two-time Paris 2024 Olympic bronze medalist, finished fifth in the eight-shot final with 179.9 points. Suruchi, an Asian Games mixed team gold medalist and multiple World Cup gold medallist, placed sixth with 158.3 points. Neither has managed to secure a quota for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

China enjoyed a successful outing as Jiang Ranxin won gold with 242.4 points and compatriot Yao Qianxun took silver with 242.1. Hungary’s Veronika Majorová won bronze with 222.1. All three podium finishes also secured an Olympic quota. Courtesy: ISSF Youtube screengrab

HOW MANU AND SURUCHI DID IN THE FINALE

Manu had to work her way back into contention after an indifferent start to the final. Her scores fluctuated between 8.8 and 10.7, which prevented her from constantly competing for medals. She was finally eliminated after the 18th shot.

Suruchi’s challenge ended even earlier. Despite entering the final as the eighth seed, she struggled to find consistency and several shots at the 8th and 9th seconds proved costly. She bowed out after the 16th shot, leaving India without an individual podium finish or quota. Manu Bhaker finished fifth in the ISSF women’s 10m air pistol event. Courtesy: ISSF Youtube screengrab

However, it was silverware for the Indian contingent. Manu, Suruchi and Sainyam combined to win the team silver medal with a total of 1738 points. China secured the gold with 1,745 points. Team medals are decided based on the combined qualifying scores of all three shooters and do not include Olympic quotas.

Manu produced a strong recovery in the qualifiers to secure a place in the final. After opening with two runs of 95, she raised her game with scores of 98, 100, 96 and 99 to finish third with 583 points.

Suruchi fought her way to eighth place with 580 and posted scores of 97, 95, 96, 97, 97 and 98. China’s Jiang dominated the qualifiers with 585 while Sainyam finished 22nd with 575. However, her contribution proved vital in the Indian team’s quest for silver.

The championships represent the first major shooting competition to offer individual quotas for the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028. India will now look to other events to make a breakthrough as they are yet to secure an individual medal or an Olympic quota in the showpiece Olympic event.

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