DOHA — The air inside the shooting range in Doha was thick with anticipation on Thursday as two of India’s most promising marksmen, Manu Bhaker and Suruchi Inder Singh, stepped onto the firing line for the 10m air pistol final at the ISSF World Championships. While the tricolour would eventually be raised for a team podium finish, the primary objective—a coveted 2028 Los Angeles Olympics individual quota—remained elusive, slipping through the hands of the Indian duo as they faltered under the pressure of the final stage.
The day began with promise. Both Bhaker, a double Olympic bronze medallist, and Asian Games mixed team gold medallist Suruchi had navigated the qualification rounds with grit, earning their spots among the top eight shooters in the world. However, as the final progressed, the consistency required to challenge the world’s elite proved to be a bridge too far.
A Final Defined by Inconsistency
For Manu Bhaker, the transition from the qualification round—where she posted a solid 583—to the high-stakes final was marked by a lack of rhythm. The 24-year-old struggled to stabilize her performance, with scores fluctuating wildly between 8.8 and 10.7. In a sport defined by millimetres and nerves, such volatility is often fatal, and Bhaker was eliminated after the 18th shot, settling for fifth place with a final total of 179.9 points.
Suruchi Inder Singh’s journey mirrored her compatriot’s struggles. Having scraped into the final as the eighth qualifier with a total of 580, she faced an uphill battle against the top-tier competition. A series of shots landing in the 8s and 9s mid-round left her unable to climb the leaderboard, and she was eliminated early, finishing in sixth place with 158.3 points.
The field was dominated by a clinical display from China. Jiang Ranxin asserted her supremacy with a masterful 242.4, narrowly edging out teammate Yao Qianxun, who claimed silver with 242.1. Hungary’s Veronika Major rounded out the podium with 222.1. Crucially, by virtue of their podium finishes, all three athletes secured the golden ticket to the 2028 Los Angeles Games, further highlighting the significance of the opportunity missed by the Indian contingent.
Silver Lining: Team Success
While the individual event yielded no Olympic berths, India found a measure of solace in the team standings. The collective effort of Manu Bhaker, Suruchi Inder Singh, and their teammate Sainyam resulted in a silver medal, with the trio posting a combined aggregate of 1,738 points. China once again took the top spot on the podium with 1,745, but the Indian performance underscored the strength of the national squad’s depth.
Sainyam, who had finished 22nd in the individual qualification with a score of 575, proved to be an essential cog in the machine. Her steady presence ensured that India remained competitive in the team rankings, providing a necessary morale boost for a team that had navigated a taxing qualification process earlier in the day.
However, the team silver serves as a bittersweet consolation. Because team standings at this event do not carry the weight of Olympic qualification, the primary goal for India’s shooters—securing an early entry into the Los Angeles cycle—remains unfulfilled.
The Road Ahead: Searching for the Breakthrough
The Doha World Championships serve as the first major hunting ground for the 2028 Olympic cycle, making the missed opportunity particularly stinging for the Indian camp. As it stands, India is still searching for its first individual medal and its first individual quota place in an Olympic discipline at these championships.
The disappointment in the women’s 10m air pistol is a stark reminder of the razor-thin margins that separate excellence from exit. Bhaker’s career has been built on her ability to bounce back from adversity, and her recovery from a modest start in the qualification series—shooting 95s in her first two rounds before accelerating to a peak of 100—showed the class she possesses. Yet, at this level, class must be paired with clinical execution under the spotlight, a challenge that proved insurmountable on this particular Thursday.
For the Indian coaching staff and the shooters themselves, the focus must now shift to analyzing the technical lapses that surfaced during the final. With several more events to come, the hunger to secure an early Olympic berth will only intensify. The wait for the 2028 Los Angeles quota continues, but the intensity with which the Indian team fights for every point suggests that a breakthrough is not a matter of “if,” but “when.”
As the dust settles in Doha, the Indian squad faces a pivotal juncture in their campaign. They have the skill, the depth, and the resilience, but they must find a way to translate their qualification brilliance into final-round dominance. The road to Los Angeles is long, and while the Doha final was a setback, the race for glory is only just beginning.
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