India’s two-time Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker lost her chance of a gold medal win in the 25m pistol event at the Asian Rifle/Pistol Championship in Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range, New Delhi. On Monday, the Indian lost her match to Vietnam’s Nguyen Thuy Trang in a dramatic double shoot-off, while India’s Esha Singh secured the bronze medal in the category.
In the final match, both Bhaker and Nguyen were tied at 35 shots, which led to a shoot-off for the title decider. In the first, both registered two hits, which led to the second one where Nguyen topped off with three, and the Indian had to settle for bronze.
This was Bhaker’s first campaign in which she secured a podium finish in the 10m air pistol event at the Asian Championships, having previously won a gold in the 2019 edition in Doha and a bronze in Shymkent in 2025. The Olympic medalist finished in seventh place at the 2026 edition.
Disappointed by her performance, Bhaker, in the post-match interview, shared her heartbreak at the loss.
Bhaker said, “I think I now think about the bigger picture more. I think (when I lose a match) that it’s OK. That is in the past. Let me focus on the next thing at hand. The 10m pistol event was done and the next thing for me was the 25m match at the Asian Championships. I feel that after taking my lessons, of course, I was able to move on rather quickly. It’s just part of the cycle. I will never win everything, but at the same time, I will never lose everything as well. But as long as I’m working hard, I will try to keep giving my best.”
Meanwhile, for Esha, this was her second individual medal in the championship after finishing in third position. In the final, she opened strong by securing a perfect score in the first series to remain in the gold medal contention, but she got hit by a challenge in the ninth series that left her with a bronze. On the other hand, India’s Rhythm Sangwan could not make a podium finish after ending her campaign in fourth position.
But Indian shooters had an impressive run in the women’s junior 25m pistol finals. Naamya Kapoor bagged a gold medal after winning the shootout against Indonesia’s Rihadatul Asyifa. After getting tied on 29 shots, Kapoor secured the win by three hits, while Asyifa failed to add any. Meanwhile, former world champion Anjali Bhagwat added a bronze medal, with Parisha Gupta finishing in fifth place.
Besides, India also secured gold medals in the senior and junior team events, taking their overall medal tally to 60, including 37 golds, 13 silvers and 10 bronze medals.
