Nagoya: Manu Bhaker finished fifth in the women's 10m air pistol final at the Asian Games on Wednesday, ending India's hopes of a medal in the event after the country had earlier missed the team bronze by a narrow tie-break.
PTI reported that Bhaker, who had qualified third for the individual final with 579 points, finished the medal round with 181.1. She was India's only finalist in the event.
South Korea's Choo Gaeun won the gold with an Asian Games record 246.3, while China's Shen Yiyao took silver with 241.3 and Jiang Ranxin won bronze with 221.6. Chinese Taipei's Cheng Yen-Ching finished fourth, ahead of Bhaker.
Earlier in the day, India narrowly missed the women's 10m air pistol team bronze. Bhaker, Esha Singh and Suruchi Inder Singh combined for 1719 points, the same total as Vietnam.
According to the published results, Vietnam had 46 inner-10s compared with India's 44. The tie-break therefore placed Vietnam third and India fourth.
Bhaker was the only Indian to progress to the individual final. Esha Singh finished 15th in qualification with 572, while Suruchi Singh was 26th with 568.
The 10m air pistol result does not end Bhaker's campaign in Nagoya. She is also entered in the women's 25m pistol competition, with qualification scheduled for September 27 and the final on September 28, if she advances.
India have so far collected seven shooting medals -- four silver and three bronze -- but gold has remained out of reach.
Bhaker won two bronze medals at the Paris 2024 Olympics, in the women's 10m air pistol and mixed team 10m air pistol events. Her 25m pistol event in Nagoya will provide another opportunity to add to her Asian Games record.
(With inputs from PTI | Asian Games)
