Indian shooter Manu Bhaker is on course to win three Olympic medals after finishing second in the 25m sport pistol final at the Chateauroux shooting range on Friday. The 22-year-old shooter created history for India by winning two bronze medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Manu Bhaker, who was in the top three and dominated the event throughout almost the entirety of the qualifying stage, came in second with 590 points, behind Hungarian Veronika Major, who equaled the Olympic record with 592 points.

Manu Bhaker, whose performance improved significantly after reconciling with legendary former shooter and coach Jaspal Rana, won the 10m women’s air pistol bronze medal and the 10m air pistol mixed team bronze medal with her partner Sarabjot Singh.

He was in unbeaten form in the sport pistol qualifying rounds, firing 294 shots with scores of 97, 98 and 99 in the tough ‘precision’ round. In the ‘fast round’ Manu scored a perfect 100, two 98s and a total of 296.

India’s promising shooter and multiple medalist at the Hangzhou Asian Games, Esha Singh, missed out on the eight-shooting final by a length, finishing 18th among 40 shooters with a score of 581 (291 accuracy and 290 pace).

Manu Bhaker, who has achieved a record number of wins among Indians, has urged Indians not to be “disappointed” if he fails to win more.

However, considering the Jhajjar shooter’s imperious form, there are high chances of him winning a gold or silver medal.

Manu Bhaker’s pistol malfunctioned at the 2021 Tokyo Games, preventing her from achieving her Olympic dream. She said the heartbreak made the medals here even more valuable.

The young shooter said he admires javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra and shuttler PV Sindhu for “proving themselves”. Manu Bhaker is the second youngest Indian athlete to win an Olympic medal after PV Sindhu.

India has won all three medals in shooting so far; Manu bagged two while Swapnil Kusale won the bronze in the 50m rifle three-position event on Thursday.

Former Indian cricket team coach Rahul Dravid also described his performance as “incredible” after winning his second medal at the Paris Olympics.

“Manu’s story after the disappointment of Tokyo Olympics is incredible. To come here and overcome that and compete and win the bronze medal is a phenomenal achievement,” said Rahul Dravid.