The Paris 2024 Olympics witnessed intense competition in shooting and archery on August 3, with several athletes narrowly missing podium finishes. Indian shooter Manu Bhaker, who had already secured two bronze medals in the 10m air pistol events, finished fourth in the women’s 25m pistol final. Bhaker lost a shoot-off for the bronze to Hungary’s Veronika Major, missing out on a historic third medal. Despite the disappointment, Bhaker remained positive, stating, ‘There’s always a next time and I’m already looking forward to the next one’.In the 25m pistol event, South Korea’s Jiin Yang clinched gold, while French shooter Camille Jedrzejewski secured silver, marking a significant achievement for French sport. Jedrzejewski expressed her emotion after the win, saying, ‘This medal is particularly special to me, as I was disappointed in my previous performance in the 10m pistol event’.The archery competition saw its share of surprises and disappointments. India’s Deepika Kumari bowed out in the quarterfinals of the women’s individual recurve event, losing 4-6 to South Korea’s Suhyeon Nam after leading 4-2 at one stage. This loss continued India’s medal drought in Olympic archery. Meanwhile, Mexican archer Alejandra Valencia, despite losing in the individual quarterfinals, had already secured a historic bronze medal in the women’s team event alongside Ana Paula Vázquez and Ángela Ruiz.These results highlight the intense competition and fine margins that define Olympic success, with athletes like Bhaker and Kumari demonstrating resilience in the face of near misses, while others like Jedrzejewski and Valencia celebrated breakthrough performances on the global stage.
Key points
- Manu Bhaker finished fourth in the 25m pistol event, missing a third Olympic medal.
- Camille Jedrzejewski won silver for France in the 25m pistol event.
- Deepika Kumari was eliminated in the quarterfinals of women’s individual recurve archery.
- Alejandra Valencia secured a bronze medal for Mexico in the women’s team archery event.
