Indian shooter Manu Bhaker kept herself on track for a hat-trick of Olympic medals, coming up with one of her most memorable performances in her favourite event, the 25m sports pistol, as she booked a place in the final in second spot in Chateauroux, France, on Friday.
The 22-year-old, who has already made history by becoming the first Indian athlete to win two bronze medals in one edition of the quadrennial showpiece, can add to her aura if she wins a third medal on Saturday, something which is well within her grasp after her commanding performance in the qualification round.
Manu, who continued to dominate the event and remained among the top three almost throughout the qualification phase of 'precision' and 'rapid' rounds, aggregated 590 to be placed second behind Hungary's Veronika Major who equalled the Olympic record with a score of 592.
Manu, who has seen a marked improvement in her shooting after patching up with legendary shooter-turned-coach Jaspal Rana, has won the 10m women's air pistol bronze and 10m air pistol mixed team bronze pairing up with Sarabjot Singh.
She was in impregnable form in the sports pistol qualification rounds, firing 294 in the gruelling 'precision' round with scores of 97, 98 and 99.
The 'rapid round' brought out the best in her as she shot a perfect 100, followed by two 98s for a aggregate of 296.
India's upcoming shooter and multiple Hangzhou Asian Games medallist Esha Singh faltered to aggregate 581 (291 in precision and 290 in rapid) to finish 18th among 40 shooters and miss the eight-shooter final by a distance.
Just after winning her second bronze medal here, in 10m air pistol mixed team event, Manu had urged the countrymen not to be "disappointed" if she can't add more medals to the tally.
But going by her imperious form, the Jhajjar shooter could well be in line to win a gold or silver.
Manu's sterling performance here has come after a failed campaign at the Tokyo Games in 2021 where a pistol malfunction stopped her from achieving her Olympic dream.
She said that the heartbreak made her value the medals here even more.
Manu, the second youngest Indian athlete to win an Olympic medal after shuttler PV Sindhu, had added that she looks up to ace javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra and Sindhu because they have "proved themselves".
India has won all three medals so far in shooting, with Manu bagging two and Swapnil Kusale taking the bronze in 50m rifle three-positions on Thursday.
Legendary India cricketer Rahul Dravid had also termed Manu performance "incredible" following her second Olympic bronze medal.
"Manu's story is incredible after the disappointment of Tokyo Olympics, to come here and be able to get over that and compete and bronze is a phenomenal achievement," Dravid, the former India coach, had said during a panel discussion at India House in Paris.
Anant Jeet placed 26th in skeet
Indian shotgun shooters' abysmal performance continued with skeet marksman Anant Jeet Singh Naruka placed at 26th position with a score of 68 after day 1 of qualification.
The men's and women's trap shooters have already finished their assignments without making an impression.
Naruka fired three rounds of 25 each, which fetched him 23, 22 and 23. Legendary Vincent Hancock of the USA had three perfect rounds of 25 each and was leading the 28-shooter field.
Two more qualification rounds will take place on Saturday before the six finalists are short-listed.
