India clinches 25m pistol team gold medal; Manu Bhaker, Esha Singh miss Olympic quota

The Indian women's 25m pistol team won gold at the ISSF World Championships, but individual shooters Manu Bhaker and Esha Singh failed to secure Olympic quota places. The performance has sparked criticism regarding India's high-performance sports program.
Why it matters
The failure to secure Olympic quotas despite significant investment highlights ongoing challenges in India's elite sports development pipeline.
Doha India settled for the women's 25m pistol team gold after ace shooters Manu Bhaker and Esha Singh failed to deliver in the individual final, squandering another opportunity to win medals and secure quota places for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics at the ISSF World Championships in Doha on Tuesday (November 10, 2026). While Esha finished eighth and last, Manu narrowly missed the podium, ending fourth. South Korea's Yang Jiin struck gold with a world record score of 44. Vietnam's Trinh Thu Vinh took silver with 43, while China's Zhang Yueyue claimed bronze with 34. All three medal winners also secured Olympic quota places for their respective countries. Both Esha, a multiple Asian Games medallist, and Manu, a double Olympic bronze medallist at the Paris 2024 Games, had qualified for the eight-shooter final after impressive performances in the qualification round, finishing third and sixth respectively.
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