Manu Bhaker’s wait for an Asian Games medal continues after the Indian shooting star finished fifth in the women’s 10m air pistol individual final at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026 on Wednesday. The double Olympic medallist had entered the medal round with high expectations after securing third place in the qualification round, but she could not translate that into a podium finish.
Bhaker shot 579-20x in the qualification round to finish third and become the only Indian shooter to qualify for the individual final in the event. Esha Singh finished outside the top eight while Suruchi Singh also failed to qualify for the medal round. Bhaker’s qualification performance had raised hopes of another major international medal, particularly after her historic performance at the Paris Olympics.
Bhaker was fifth in the final with 181.1. That meant she narrowly failed to make it to the Asian Games podium despite entering the competition as one of India’s biggest shooting medalists. The final featured eight shooters and Bhaker was unable to keep up the consistency required to have a shot at the medals.
The disappointment came after an already challenging performance of Indian women’s 10m air pistol team. India narrowly missed a team medal earlier in the day when it was fourth with 1719 points with Vietnam. In the end, Vietnam had 46 inner-10 shots while India had 44. India missed out on the bronze medal only by two inner-10s.
Bhaker was one of the most prominent names in India’s shooting delegation at the Aichi-Nagoya Games. Her performance was also a special one in her Asian Games story. The 24-year-old arrived in Japan as a double Olympic medallist after winning bronze in both the women’s individual 10m air pistol and the mixed team 10m air pistol events at the Paris 2024 Olympics. She became the first Indian athlete to win two medals at a single edition of the Olympics.
The Indian shooter had also been selected to be India’s female flagbearer for the opening ceremony of the Asian Games alongside wrestler Pawan Sehrawat, another indication of her stature in the Indian delegation. Prior to the Games, Bhaker had advised her teammates to focus on their performance and enjoy the opportunity to participate in a big multi-sport event.
But the fifth-place finish will still be a loss for Bhaker who was hoping to add an Asian Games medal to an already impressive international résumé. She had shown in her qualification that she can be on the podium but the final didn’t deliver the result she’d like.
India’s shooting program at the 2026 Asian Games has already brought several medals to the country, including silver medals in multiple air rifle events and a bronze in men’s 10m air rifle. Bhaker’s fifth-place finish means India will have to wait for another opportunity to add to its medal in pistol events.
The 2026 Asian Games shooting program is still ongoing and the Indian delegation has further opportunities to win medals. Bhaker may have more opportunities at this event for medals but her 10m air pistol campaign on her own has ended with a fifth place finish.
Now, the focus turns to the rest of India’s shooting contingent as the country continues its campaign in Aichi-Nagoya. Bhaker couldn’t score a medal in the 10m air pistol individual final but she did qualify for the medal round again showing that she is one of India’s most accomplished international shooters.
