Manu Bhaker kicks off India's medal tally at Paris Olympics with historic bronze in 10m air pistol shooting

Manu Bhaker made history as the first Indian woman to win an Olympic medal in shooting. The 22-year-old depicted great composure to overcome her previous setback in Tokyo to secure a historic bronze in 10m air pistol event on Sunday, marking a significant achievement with the bronze in 10m air pistol and ending India’s 12-year wait for an Olympic shooting medal.

Manu, the third Indian woman to ever enter the finals of an individual shooting event at the Olympics, secured the third position, shooting 580 in the qualifications. She then went on to shoot 221.7 in the final, clinching the bronze medal.

Historic Achievement

She was well ahead of South Korea’s Kim Yeji in the running for the silver before the last shot by o.1 point, but the lead vanished in the final shot when Manu recorded a 10.3 shot while the Korean roared back with a 10.5 to get hold of the silver price.

Meanwhile, South Korea’s Oh Ye Jin was way ahead of her competition with a record-breaking score of 243.2, hammering the previous record of 240.3 by Vitalina Batsarkshkina, to earn the Gold medal.

Manu made a remarkable comeback in the Paris Olympics after a disastrous turn of events in the qualification for the Tokyo Olympics with a Pistol malfunction. The Young Manu came out with a historic redemption in Paris.

Expressing her feelings, Mannu said, “After Tokyo, I was very disappointed, and it took me a very long time to overcome that. Frankly speaking, I really can’t explain how good I am feeling today.”

Manu, hailing from Jhajjar, Haryana, a state known for producing numerous sports medals for India, has been passionate about athletics from a young age, like many Haryanvis. She excelled in various sports, including tennis, skating, boxing, and the martial art of thang ta.

Manu’s interest in shooting was aroused at the age of 14 years in 2016 when she got inspired by the Rio Olympics. She somehow convinced her father, Ram Kishan Bhaker, to purchase a sports pistol, leading the way to her shooting career.

Manu garnered nationwide recognition by defeating Olympian Heena Sidhu to win the national shooting championship with a record-breaking score of 242.3 in the 10m Air Pistol final. She continued her great form at the Asian Junior Championships to win a silver medal.

Building on her success, she reached new heights at the 2018 Youth Olympics, winning gold in the women’s 10m Air Pistol event and becoming the first Indian shooter and female athlete to accomplish this feat.

Her coach, Jaspal Rana, played a key role in her continued success, leading her towards securing the top position in the Olympic Selection Trials T4 10m air pistol final, outclassing the Asian Games champion Palak by a significant margin of 4.4 points.

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