Paris 2024: Manu Bhaker Wins Bronze, First Indian Woman to Earn Olympic Shooting Medal

Manu Bhaker : Historic Bronze in Paris 2024

Manu Bhaker secured the bronze medal in the women’s 10m air pistol event at Paris 2024 on Sunday, marking a historic achievement as the first Indian woman to win an Olympic shooting medal.

India’s Fifth Shooting Medal

This bronze is India’s fifth Olympic medal in shooting and the country’s first medal in any sport at Paris 2024. India had a streak of winning shooting medals at the Olympics from Athens 2004 to London 2012 but did not secure any in the following two editions.

Bhaker’s Performance

The 22-year-old Manu Bhaker scored 221.7 points to finish third in the eight-woman final. Oh Ye Jin from the Republic of Korea won the gold with a new Olympic record of 243.2 points, while her compatriot Yeji Kim secured the silver with a score of 241.3, narrowly surpassing Bhaker to advance to the gold medal round.

Manu Bhaker’s Redemption at Paris 2024

Three years ago, Manu Bhaker broke down in tears after a disappointing campaign at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, finishing medalless in three events. On Sunday at Chateauroux, the 22-year-old, now competing in her second Olympics, wiped away tears of joy. She won a bronze medal in the women’s 10m air pistol event, opening India’s medal count at the Paris 2024 Games and becoming the first Indian woman shooter to win an Olympic medal.

Manu Bhaker’s Impressive Start and Final Stand

Manu Bhaker started the final strongly, scoring 50.4 in the first series to take second place. However, two 9.6s in the second series saw her drop to third behind Oh Ye Jin and Yeji Kim.

Bhaker reclaimed the second position from Yeji Kim at the end of the third series and again in the closing stages of the final. However, the South Korean shooter edged her out by 0.1 point to enter the gold medal round.

Manu Bhaker : Reflections

“I just put all my effort into staying in the moment until the last second, just not giving up and keep trying harder and harder,” Manu said. “You have to hold yourself together because that’s what all the hard work is for. Although the competition was neck-and-neck and I lost silver by .1, I’m still very grateful to win bronze for my country.”

Past Olympics and Historical Wins

In the same event at Tokyo 2020, Manu Bhaker was on track to qualify for the final but a pistol malfunction cost her six crucial minutes, and she fell just two points short of making the final.

India’s history in Olympic shooting began with Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore winning a silver in men’s double trap at Athens 2004. Abhinav Bindra secured India’s only gold in shooting in the men’s 10m air rifle at Beijing 2008. Gagan Narang (men’s 10m air rifle) and Vijay Kumar (men’s 25m rapid fire pistol) added to the tally with silver and bronze, respectively, at London 2012.

Manu Bhaker : Qualification and Upcoming Events

On Saturday, Manu Bhaker stormed into the final of the women’s 10m air pistol event, finishing third in the qualifying round. She thus became the first Indian woman in 20 years to make an Olympic shooting final. Veronika Major of Hungary, who topped the qualifying round, was the first to be eliminated in the final.

Manu Bhaker will also compete in the 10m air pistol mixed team event on Monday and the women’s 25m pistol event starting on Friday. She is the only athlete from the 21-member Indian shooting team to participate in multiple individual events.

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