India remain with three medals in total and occupies the 49th place in the medal tally with excitement high for Sunday as key events featuring Lakshya Sen in badminton, Lovlina Borgohain in boxing, and the hockey team in quarterfinals on the roster.
Bhaker missed an opportunity to secure another historic Olympic medal, finishing fourth in the 25m pistol event.
Starting strong, she was momentarily placed No.1 but lacked consistency in crucial moments.
After the eighth series of five shots, she tied for third place with Hungarian shooter Veronika. Bhaker hit three out of five targets while Veronika hit four, clinching the third spot.
Despite her ups and downs during the elimination round, Bhaker reached the top spot temporarily in the seventh series, only to fall to third following three missed shots in the eighth round.
The final shoot-off saw Bhaker hit three targets while Veronika bettered her with four.
“I got like really nervous about it, but again, I was trying my best to keep calm and to just try to do my best. But that was not enough,” Manu said after the event.
Earlier, she shot 28 in the final to tie for third place after the eighth series. She missed two of the five shots in this series, which saw her aggregate three points, while Veronika’s four hits secured her the bronze.
Even though Bhaker couldn’t maintain her initial lead, her performance was commendable. Occupying the No.1 spot briefly among eight shooters, she showed resilience, climbing back to contention after slipping to sixth early in the final.
The day didn’t yield medals, but Sunday promises significant action. Badminton ace Lakshya Sen faces Viktor Axelsen of Denmark for a semifinal spot in men’s singles.
Tokyo Games bronze-medalist boxer Lovlina Borgohain goes against China’s Li Qian for another podium finish.
The Indian hockey team is also set to play Great Britain in the quarterfinals.
Bhaker will return home with twin bronze medals in the women’s 10m air pistol and mixed team 10m air pistol events, partnering with Sarabjot Singh. Despite the intense pressure from millions back home, she viewed her Olympic journey this time as a mixed bag.
Naruka bows out, women too disappoint in skeet
At the shotgun range, Indian skeet shooter Anant Jeet Singh Naruka concluded his qualification rounds in 24th place out of 30 shooters with an aggregate of 116 out of 125 shots.
On the first day of qualification, Naruka had scored 23, 22, and 23, and he followed up with identical 24s in the final two qualifying rounds. Six shooters proceed to the final.
In the women’s skeet event, India’s Maheshwari Chauhan was in close contention with the leading pack, securing the eighth position after Day 1 with an aggregate of 71.
She recorded scores of 23, 24, and 24. Meanwhile, Raiza Dhillon was placed 25th among 29 participants with an overall score of 66, having shot 21, 22, and 23.
Deepika caves in after raising hopes as archery campaign ends
Deepika Kumari’s archery campaign ended as she lost to Korea’s Suhyeon Nam at the Games in Paris, despite having an initial advantage, winning two of the first three sets.
Earlier in the day, she had secured a 6-4 win over Germany’s Michelle Kroppen but was defeated by Nam by the same margin.
Deepika’s fortunes took a turn in the fourth set against Nam when she shot a 7 with her second arrow, missing a significant opportunity. The match concluded India’s archery events at the Games without any podium finishes.
Teenager Bhajan Kaur was also eliminated earlier after a pre-quarterfinal loss to Indonesia’s Diananda Choirunisa in a shoot-off.
This was Deepika’s fourth Olympics appearance, and she once again finished without a medal.
In the mixed team event, Ankita Bhakat and Dhiraj Bommadevara achieved a fourth-place finish, marking India’s best result in archery at these Games.
Nethra placed 24th in women’s sailing; Saravanan 23rd in men’s event
At the Marseille Marina, India’s Nethra Kumanan endured a tough day in the women’s dighy sailing event’s opening series as she slipped to 24th spot after Race 6.
Having finished 11th after three races on Friday, the 26-year-old slumped after three more races on Saturday.
As for the men’s dighy event, Vishnu Saravanan was placed 23rd after Race 6.
Nishant bows out
Debutant Nishant Dev (71kg) bowed out following a heartbreaking defeat to Mexico’s Marco Verde Alvarez in the men’s 71kg quarterfinal.
The 23-year-old world championship bronze medallist Indian lost by a 1-4 split verdict to his second seed Mexican opponent in the quarterfinal at the North Paris Arena.
Nishant is the fifth Indian boxer to exit the Paris Games.