India at Olympics 2021: 3 takeaways from women's 25m pistol event

At the 2021 Olympics, Manu Bhaker and Rahi Sarnobat were ranked fifth and 25th respectively following the precision stage of the women’s 25m pistol event. World No. 7 Bhaker registered 292/300 points while world No. 2 Sarnobat could only manage 287/300 points.

Sarnobat had a better tally (12) of inner-10s compared to Manu (9). Rapid-fire, the second stage of qualification, will take place tomorrow along with the final. It will also bear an equal weightage of 300 points. Scores from the two qualifying rounds will be added up to determine the top-eight finalists.

#1 Manu Bhaker looks set for a berth in the Olympic final

After narrowly missing the Olympic final in both the women’s 10m air pistol and 10m air pistol mixed events, Bhaker is determined to return home with a medal. In the women’s 25m pistol precision round, she recorded 97, 97, 98 points in the three series.

She also registered as many as 9x (inner-tens), a factor which becomes critical when the scores of two shooters are tied.

A strong showing on Friday should be enough for Bhaker to compete in the 8-shooter final. Incidentally, she shot an identical precision series of 97, 97, 98 at the ISSF World Cup 2021 in Osijek, Croatia. She then backed it up with a solid rapid-fire series of 99, 97, 100.

#2 Rahi Sarnobat could stage a comeback

Rahi Sarnobat shot 96, 97, 94 in her 3 series today. The last series of 94 could dent her hopes of qualifying though. She was expected to deliver a better score, given her recent gold medal performance at the ISSF World Cup in Osijek.

If Sarnobat can steady herself after an unideal start, she could more than make up for it in the rapid-fire stage.

#3 Rapid-fire round will be crucial

The final will employ the rapid-fire format. If Bhaker and Sarnobat have a positive outing in the rapid-fire qualification stage, the momentum they gain could set them up perfectly for the final.

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The field for the Olympic final is expected to be a competitive one. Reigning Olympic champion Anna Korakaki of Greece will be going in with all guns blazing to defend her title. She's ranked second on the qualification leaderboard with 294-12x points. Serbia’s Zorana Arunovic leads the 44-shooter qualifying field with 296-11x points.