Bhaker shines bright, enters 10m air pistol final

Manu Bhaker made a statement of intent by storming into the 10m air pistol finals on a day when most of her compatriots endured a forgettable outing at the shooting range before shuttler Lakshya Sen and paddler Harmeet Desai dazzled on debut in India’s sedate start at the Olympic Games on Saturday.

Bhaker, who is competing in her second Olympics, seemed determined to wipe off the memories of her tearful past outing as she qualified third for the 10m air pistol women’s final which will be held on Sunday afternoon at the Chateauroux Shooting Centre.

In the badminton competition being held at the Porte de La Chapelle Arena in Paris, Sen was in a hurry to wrap up the proceedings but Guatemala’s Kevin Cordon made sure that the Indian was stretched to an extent in his opening Group L match.

Sen prevailed 21-8 22-20 after saving four match points in a tenacious performance.

At the South Paris Arena, seasoned campaigner Desai, also competing in his first Olympics, added some more sparkle to India’s performance by progressing to the men’s singles second round with a convincing 4-0 victory over Jordan’s Zaid Abo Yaman.

The shooters have drawn a blank at every Olympics after 2012 and the apprehensions began to set in early for this one too before Bhaker decided to take control. The 22-year-old, who hails from Jhajjar in Haryana, shot 580 in the qualifications in which Hungarian ace Veronika Major claimed the top spot with a score of 582. The other Indian in the field, Rhythm Sangwan, ended 15th with an underwhelming 573.