No podium for Manu Bhaker as she finishes fifth in Asian Games women’s 10m air pistol final

Indian shooter Manu Bhaker finished fifth in the women’s 10m air pistol individual final at the Asian Games 2026 on Wednesday, scoring 181.1 points before being eliminated after the 18th shot.

The 24-year-old Bhaker, who qualified third with 579-20x, was eliminated after registering 9.6 with her 18th shot. She had recovered from a slow start in qualification, where she opened with 95 before finishing strongly with a series of 96, 96 and 98, according to ESPN.

South Korea’s Choo Gaeun won gold with 246.3 points, setting an Asian record, while China’s Shen Yiyao took silver with 241.3. Jiang Ranxin of China secured bronze with 221.6 points.

Bhaker’s fifth-place finish came after India’s women’s 10m air pistol team narrowly missed the podium, finishing fourth by two inner-10 shots. Esha Singh finished 16th in qualification with 572 points, while Suruchi Singh placed 26th with 568.

In other events, India defeated the Philippines 2-1 in the men’s team regu Group B in sepaktakraw but missed out on qualification.

In fencing, Karan Singh and Gisho Nidhi Kumaresan advanced to the Round of 32 in the men’s individual sabre event. Kumaresan finished third in his pool of six, while Karan placed fifth in his pool of five.

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Kumaresan is set to face Laos’ Quentin Goeffroy, while Karan will take on China’s Shaotong Luo in their Round of 32 bouts later on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Indian athletes competed across several disciplines on Day 4 of the Games.

In rowing, Balraj Panwar finished third in his men’s single sculls heat and fourth overall to qualify for the final. Satnam Singh and Salman Khan finished second in their men’s doubles sculls heat and fourth overall, also advancing to the final.

In canoe sprint, Harshwardhan Shaktawat, Varinder Singh, L Naocha Singh Oinam and Arun Singh finished third in the men’s kayak four 500m heat to qualify for the final. Megha Pradeep placed fifth in the women’s canoe single 200m heats and advanced to the semifinals.

In swimming, Benedicton Beniston finished fourth in his men’s 100m butterfly heat and 13th overall, while Sajan Prakash did not start. Both missed out on the final. Vedaant Madhavan finished sixth and Aneesh Sunil fourth in their respective men’s 200m freestyle heats, with qualification still to be determined.

Jaswinder Singh and Nitin Kumar finished fourth in the men’s pair heats and advanced to Final B. India’s women’s four rowing team of Gurbani Kaur, Aleena Anto, Tendenthoi Haobijam and Poonam also competed in the heats.

Looking ahead, India’s men’s badminton team, which has already secured a medal, will face China in the semifinals as it looks to progress to the final. Wushu athlete Roshibina Devi will also aim to reach the final of her event on Wednesday.