Asian Games 2026: Manu Bhaker finishes fifth in 10m Air Pistol final, team disappoints too

India's much-acclaimed and highly-decorated women pistol shooters, rather stunningly, came a cropper at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games as Manu Bhaker finished fifth in the final while Esha Singh and Suruchi Singh could not even make it.

That also meant a team medal, which seemed one of India's safest medal bets in the Games, did not materialise after qualification. The Indian trio collectively finished fourth behind Vietnam, South Korea and, of course, China.

At the previous Asian Games in Hangzhou three years ago, India had an individual champion (Palak Gulia, with a Games record no less), a silver medallist (Esha) and a team silver from the 10m event. The blank this time is bound to be among the Indian contingent's most surprising collapses in this edition of the multi-sport event.

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The final was won by South Korea's Choo Gaeun, who shot an Asian record 246.3 points. The Chinese duo of Shen Yiyao (241.3) and Jiang Ranxin (221.6) took the silver and bronze, respectively. Manu, the Paris Olympics bronze medallist in the event, signed off fifth with 181.1 points.

Manu made the final after finishing third in qualification with a score of 579-20x. The Indian had a bit of a slow start in the final, lying fifth after the first 10 shots. Three shots later, she slipped to sixth, staring at an elimination duel with Vietnam's Trang Nguyen. Under pressure, Manu delivered a superb 10.8 to not only hang on but also move to fifth after 14 points.

The inconsistent Manu was down to sixth again, in the elimination zone with Nguyen, whose poor 9.2 gave Manu some breathing space.

After 16 shots, Manu stayed fifth at 160.7 points but quite a distance from the podium. Another 10.8 took her to that territory. The Indian was briefly tied third as Jiang shot 9.9 and Chinese Taipei's Cheng Yen-Ching, in bronze medal position then, shot an even poorer 9.6.

Manu's ascent, though, was short-lived. A 9.6 that followed dragged her back down, and this time out of medal contention as the fifth shooter was eliminated.

That Manu, the two-time Paris Olympics medallist, was the only Indian finalist in the event was a story in itself.

Manu's struggles

There's something about Manu and the big stages. Coming into these Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, much of the spotlight was shared by Esha and Suruchi. Esha was perhaps India's most in-form shooter this year, with a sizzling performance in the highly-competitive Munich World Cup that saw her clinch a silver medal in the 10m air pistol and break the world record in the 25m. She is also ranked world No.2 in the 10m event.

Suruchi, the 20-year-old Games debutant, has been the breakout young sensation in pistol. She surged to the top of the podium in the 2025 Doha World Cup Final and this year's Munich World Cup.

Both of them, however, had significantly below-par qualifications. Esha, the defending silver medallist, finished 15th with a score of 572-12x while Suruchi was 26th at 568-12x.

Manu and Esha will have another crack at the medal, in the 25m pistol event, along with the veteran Rahi Sarnobat.