‘Saurabh Chaudhary-Manu Bhaker capable of winning a medal at Tokyo 2020’

Saurabh Chaudhary and Manu Bhaker will hope to put aside the disappointment of not being able to win a medal at Tokyo 2020 in individual shooting events when they pair up for the inaugural mixed 10m Air Pistol event, scheduled for Tuesday, July 26th.

Chaudhary topped in the qualifications with a top performance only to miss out on a podium finish as he finished seventh in the 10m Air Pistol event.

On the other hand, Manu Bhaker suffered a technical snag and lost precious few minutes in the process and missed out on a berth in the final round of 10m Air Pistol.

However, Joydeep Karmakar is confident that the Indian pair will give a good account of themselves in the mixed 10m Air Pistol event.

“We can see a brighter future for Saurabh (Chaudhary) for sure. We might not have to wait for three more years, maybe, we must wait for one more day (for the mixed team event). We might just see him shoot something spectacular in the mixed team event and I strongly feel so,” Karmakar told Olympics.com.

“I'm pretty sure that Saurabh Chaudhary-Manu Bhaker are capable of bringing home a medal. I am disappointed with the Indian shooting results in the past couple of days. But I will be thoroughly disappointed if the mixed teams fail to bag a medal. It's time for the mixed team to step up,” he mentioned.

The former Olympian pointed that inexperience could have played a part in Chaudhary and Bhaker not being able to shoot as per their potential. He remained optimistic that the Indian pair will come good in future given the talent they have and the bench strength India has managed to develop in the last few years.

“It is possible that Saurabh and Manu could not shoot to their potential due to the pressure of appearing at the first Olympics. They are young and have a fearless aspect in them and on the other side, the senior (shooters) look to have become a bit sceptical.

“It is just a beginning for the young shooters. In the next three years, they will play another Olympics only if they maintain their form. No one would be more upset than Saurabh. But the bench strength of shooting in India is like pool of shooters. So, they need to maintain their best. It is the strength of the Indian shooting team, and the future is looking really bright," he said.