Manu Bhaker and Sarabjot Singh win historic second medal in shooting at Paris Olympics

Manu Bhaker and Sarabjot Singh secured India’s second medal at the ongoing 2024 Paris Olympics by winning bronze in the 10m mixed team air pistol event on Tuesday. The pair qualified for the bronze medal match on Monday and triumphed over South Korea with a 16-10 victory, doubling India’s shooting medal count at the Games.

On Sunday, Manu Bhaker made history as the first Indian woman shooter to win an Olympic medal, while Sarabjot Singh, competing in the men’s event, narrowly missed a podium finish. Today’s win solidifies Manu’s legacy, making her the first athlete from independent India to win multiple medals at a single Olympic Games at just 22 years old.

India has seen many decorated Olympic athletes, including KD Jadhav, Major Dhyan Chand, Karnam Malleswari, Abhinav Bindra (India’s first-ever individual gold medalist), Saina Nehwal, Sushil Kumar, PV Sindhu, and Neeraj Chopra. However, none have achieved the feat of winning multiple medals at a single Olympics, a milestone Manu achieved in her second Games.

The competition followed a race-to-16-points format, with the first pair to reach 16 points declared the winners. The Korean shooters initially led with 20.5 points to India’s 18.8, earning the first two points. In the second series, Korea shot 19.9, but with Manu scoring 10.7 and Sarabjot 10.5, India tied the score at 2-2. In the next round, Sarabjot and Manu both hit 10.4, totaling 20.8 points. Oh Ye Jin’s 9.1 hurt Korea, whose total score was 19.8, giving India a 4-2 lead. India then extended their lead to 6-2 with another series win, as Manu and Sarabjot scored 20.7 against Korea’s 20.5.

Match Summary

After Korea called a timeout, India won the fifth series, extending their lead to 8-2. Sarabjot scored 9.6, and Manu’s impressive 10.6 brought India’s total to 20.1 against Korea’s 19.5. Korea responded in the sixth series, with Oh Ye Jin shooting an outstanding 10.8, making the score 8-4. Manu and Sarabjot quickly regained their momentum, winning the seventh series and increasing their lead to 10-4, with Manu scoring 10.6 and Sarabjot 9.4, while Korea fell short.

In the next series, Manu hit 8.3 and Sarabjot 10.2, but Korea’s total of 20.7 won them the series, narrowing the score to 10-6. India then took a timeout, during which their coach spoke to Manu and adjusted Sarabjot’s shooting arm. The timeout proved effective as Sarabjot shot an excellent 10.5 and Manu hit a perfect 10, bringing India’s total to 20.5 against Korea’s 19.4. This increased India’s lead to 12-6, putting them just four points away from securing a medal.

Manu and Sarabjot continued their excellent performance, scoring 20.8 while the Koreans managed only 19.4, extending India’s lead to 14-6. However, in the next series, Manu scored 9.6 and Sarabjot 9.7, resulting in a loss for India but maintaining a healthy lead at 14-8.

The Koreans fought back, winning the subsequent series with a total score of 21.0 against India’s 20.2, bringing the score to 14-10. Despite this comeback, India remained in a favorable position, just one series win away from clinching the match and securing the bronze medal. In the final series, India scored 19.6 against South Korea’s 18.5, securing the medal with a decisive 16-10 victory.

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