On February 15, 2026, Manu Bhaker won the silver medal in the women's 25m pistol event at the Asian Shooting Championships 2026, held in New Delhi. Bhaker had qualified second in the qualification round with a score of 584–18x, narrowly missing the top spot. In the eight-woman final, she mounted a stunning late surge to draw level with Vietnam's Nguyen Thuy Trang at 35-35 after the regulation 50 shots, forcing a tiebreaker shootoff. After a 2-2 draw in the first round of the shootoff, Trang clinched the gold 3-2, leaving Bhaker with silver.

This was Manu Bhaker's first-ever individual continental shooting medal in the 25m pistol event — her previous three continental medals, including two golds, were all in the 10m air pistol. India's Esha Singh also competed in the same final. Notably, Manu Bhaker, Esha Singh, and Rhythm combined to win the women's 25m pistol team gold for India with a cumulative qualification score of 1,751.

Manu Bhaker, who hails from Jhajjar in Haryana, made history at the 2024 Paris Olympics by becoming the first Indian to win two medals at a single Olympics edition (two bronze medals — 10m air pistol and 10m air pistol mixed team). Her silver at the 2026 Asian Championships demonstrates continued dominance and a successful expansion into the longer-range 25m pistol discipline. The Asian Shooting Championships also serve as a qualifying platform for major multi-sport events.