Manu slips in final, Heena wins bronze

PALEMBANG: It was supposed to be a ‘deadly duel’ between two of India’s best pistol shooters, Heena Sidhu and Manu Bhaker.

Unfortunately, the most anticipated contest at the Palembang Shooting Complex did not live up to expectations as Bhaker, after giving hope in the qualification round, could finish only fifth in 10m air pistol.

Heena, though, remained consistent to win bronze --- India’s ninth medal in shooting at the Asian Games --- giving jitters to her Chinese and Korean rivals ahead of her before a poor last shot of 9.6 ended her hopes of a better medal.

Poor luck plagued Heena all through as she scraped into the finals after finishing seventh in qualification with a score of 571. Bhaker fared better, finishing third in qualification with 574.

But Heena brought all her 12 years of experience into play in the final, overcoming a jittery start to avoid elimination and keep moving up. Just 0.1 points separated Heena, the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games silvermedallist in air pistol, and the Chinese and South Korean opponents, Wang Qian and Kim Minjung, respectively after the Indian shot a superb 10.8. But the 22nd shot, a 9.6, cost her.

“I think it was all about the high-pressure situation and not being able to apply my technique that well,” said Heena, who would be flying to Changwon (South Korea) for the World Championships on August 26.