ISSF Munich World Cup | Manu Bhaker seals spot in 10m pistol final

ISSF Munich World Cup | Manu Bhaker seals spot in 10m pistol final

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17-year-old Manu Bhaker finally managed to qualify for the final stage in the 10m category after amassing 582 points in qualifying and finishing third. A win now would secure her a spot in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo after she failed to do so in the 25m category following a weapon malfunction.

Having won two gold medals last year in the ISSF World Cup and thus becoming the youngest ever Indian to achieve the feat, Bhaker has already a won a gold medal in a World Cup this season after standing on top of the points table in the ISSF World Championships held in Delhi in February.

Hoping to replicate the success, Manu Bhaker now has a chance to do so after she shot 28 x inner 10s to end qualifying stages in the third spot with a total of 582 points, including an impressive 98 in the last two rounds.

Yashaswini Singh Deswal, another junior World champion, ended 22nd with a tally of 574 whereas the third Indian competing for the title, Heena Sidhu, ended up 45th on the charts after managing to collect 570 points.

The good news came two days after an unfortunate incident prevented her from winning a medal in the 25m category. Having first shot to fame winning a gold medal in the Commonwealth Games at the tender age of 16, Bhaker was leading the charts but her weapon let her down in the last event and she fired a blank round, which caused her to end fifth. It led India's Rahi Sarnoba to end on top and grab the Olympics spot.

If Bhaker manages to win now, she will become the first Indian to seal a spot in the Olympics in her category, following the success of compatriots Saurabh Chaudhary and Abhishek Verma in the previous two World Cups of the season that helped them clinch their spot in the mega event to be held in Tokyo in 2020.

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