CHENNAI: After missing out on individual events earlier, the onus was on Manu Bhaker and Saurabh Chaudhary to bring their A-game in the 10m air pistol mixed team event.
It was the last chance for the latter to capture Olympic glory by winning a medal.
Before the start of the Games, if one had to place a bet on an event in which the shooters were likely to medal, this would have been on top of the list.
However, just a few days into the event, they were entering the event in a different mood.
The duo were under immense pressure to deliver on Tuesday. Saurabh coped well to finish as a standout in Stage 1 and also did well in Stage 2, but Manu couldn't quite retain her composure in the second round.
That ultimately cost the team and they finished seventh, failing to make the cut for the medal rounds. The top-four teams in Stage 2 battle it out for the medals.
China's Jiang Ranxin, who had won a bronze in the individual women's event, won gold along with partner Pang Wei. Pang had also won a bronze in the individual men's event.
After the end of Stage 1, the Indians were actually at a position of strength with Saurabh accumulating 296 out of 300 while Manu hit 286. With an impressive tally of 582, they had breezed into Stage 2 as toppers.
In the business end, where there are only 20 shots each on offer, which means there's little room for error.
Manu, in particular, had a below-average Series 1while Saurabh was also not up to his usual standards.
In a game of margins, Manu had two scores of 8 (with a max of 10, anything below 9 is considered to be a big miss) in the opening series.
And her struggle continued as she hit two more 8s in the second series. Saurabh finished off on a strong note but their tally of 380 was well below the qualifying cut-off mark of 384.
This means Saurabh will return home empty-handed from Tokyo. For Manu, she'll have one more chance. She will be competing in the women's 25m pistol.