Paris Olympics: Manu Bhaker scripts history, opens India's medal tally with coveted bronze in shooting

Manu Bhaker ended India's wait for a medal at the Paris Olympics 2024 on Sunday, July 28. The young shooter clinched the bronze medal in the women's individual 10m air pistol event, creating history. 

Manu Bhaker wins bronze at Paris Olympics

Manu Bhaker's achievement is a big milestone for Indian shooting, as she became the first Indian woman to win an Olympic medal in the sport.

ALSO READ: Paris Olympics: HS Prannoy thrashes Germany's Fabian Roth in straight-games to kick off his group-stage campaign in style

A Near Miss Turned to Bronze

Manu Bhaker narrowly missed out on a silver medal, finishing just 0.1 points behind Kim Yeji in the final on Sunday. While Kim claimed silver, her Korean teammate Oh Ye Jin took gold. Despite this heartbreaking near-miss, Bhaker's performance was a testament to her resilience. Three years after a malfunction ruined her Tokyo Olympics bid, the 22-year-old has bounced back in spectacular fashion. Her bronze medal is a significant achievement, making her only the fifth Indian to win an Olympic medal in shooting. The nine-time World Cup medalist has once again showcased her world-class talent on the biggest stage.

Manu Bhaker shone in qualification

Manu Bhaker made a strong start to her Olympic campaign by securing a spot in the women's 10m air pistol final. On the first day of competition, she produced a stellar performance in the qualification round, accumulating a score of 580. Her exceptional accuracy was evident as she recorded the highest number of perfect scores (27) among all participants, propelling her into the final round.

ALSO READ: WATCH: PM Modi interacts with Manu Bhaker on phone after her landmark bronze at Paris Olympics, says ‘you missed silver by 1 point but...’

Historic Qualification

Bhaker's qualification for the final marked a significant milestone for Indian shooting. She became the first Indian woman to reach an Olympic final in an individual shooting event in the last two decades. The previous Indian woman to achieve this feat was Suma Shirur, who competed in the 10m air rifle final at the Athens Olympics in 2004. Furthermore, Bhaker created history by being the first Indian woman to qualify for the 10m air pistol final at any Olympic Games.

Indian Women's Shooting Drought Ends

Prior to Manu Bhaker's bronze medal, India's Olympic shooting history had been exclusively male-dominated. The country's four previous Olympic shooting medals were all won by men. The most recent of these were secured at the London 2012 Games, where Gagan Narang claimed bronze in the men's 10m air rifle and Vijay Kumar earned silver in the men's 25m rapid fire pistol.
 

MORE ON SPORTS TAK:

Watch: Ravi Bishnoi suffers a cut below his left eye but refuses to leave field and ends spell with a wicket in 1st T20I vs Sri Lanka

West Indies batter with fastest century record reverses retirement ahead of T20 World Cup 2024, says ‘After a period of reflection and thoughtful dialogue...’

PV Sindhu beats 111th ranked Maldives' Fathimath in just 29 minutes to start Paris Olympics 2024 campaign

Why is Paris Olympic cauldron with a unique hot air balloon design different than all cauldrons in Games' history