Paris, Aug 2: Double bronze winner Manu Bhaker will launch her campaign for an unprecedented third individual medal in the Olympic Games by an Indian sportsperson when she takes aim in the Women's 25m Pistol Qualification round in Chateauroux on Friday.
Manu has made history twice in the Paris Olympics by becoming the first woman shooter to win a medal when she claimed bronze in the Women's 10m Air Pistol event and then added more luster to her achievement by becoming the first Indian to win two medals in the same edition of the Games when she partnered Sarabjot Singh to win bronze in 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team event.
On Friday, Manu along with Esha Singh will take part in the Precision Round of the Women's 25m Pistol Qualifying from 12:30 IST. Later at 16:30 IST, both of them will return to the shooting range to participate in the Rapid section, hoping to make it to the eight-player final in the two-day event.
Asian Games medallist Anant Jeet Singh Naruka will step into the Shotgun range for the Men's Skeet competition starting at 13:00 IST. It will be a crucial day for recurve archers when Dhiraj Bommadevara and Ankita Bhakat meet Indonesia's Diananda Choirunisa and Arif Pangestu of Indonesia in the Mixed Team quarterfinals at 13:19 IST.
Both the Indian archers are out of the individual competition and will be hoping to make up for their disappointing performance. India's Commonwealth Games medallist judoka Tulika Maan will open her campaign against Cuba's Edalys Ortiz in the Women's +78kg Round of 32 Elimination Round from 13:30 IST onwards.
On the second day of Athletics competitions, India's Parul Chaudhary and Ankita will take part in the heats of the Women's 5000m at 21:40 IST. Shot-putter Tajinderpal Singh Toor will open his campaign in the Men's shot put qualifying round at 23:30 IST. Toor is the Asian record holder in the shot put and Indian fans have a lot of hopes for him.
In the afternoon, India's Nethra Kumaran will be out tackling the squall when she sets sail in the Race 3 & 4 Women's Dinghy event of the Sailing Competition at 17:45 IST. The Indian men's hockey team will wind up its engagements in the preliminary league phase with a Pool B clash against Australia at 16:45 IST.
Lakshya Sen, the lone Indian shuttler in the fray, will step onto the court to get into the medal rounds when he takes on Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei in the men's singles quarterfinals at 18:30 IST.
