2 Days into the 2024 Paris Olympics, team India has won their first medal at the ultimate sporting event. Manu Bhaker, the 22-year-old shooter won the Bronze medal with a score of 221.7 at the 10m Air Pistol event which concluded today. This not only was India’s first Medal at this year’s summer games, but also India’s first medal in shooting in over 12 years! The last one came in the 2012 Olympics in London.
A few years back, Manu was India’s biggest hope to win a medal at the Tokyo Olympics. But her Olympic debut ended in tears. This time around, a much more mature Manu Bhaker with lots of such experience under her belt felt more secure in the way she went about her business. Throughout the Finals, Manu Bhaker never dropped out of the top 4 spots, with spending most of her time in the 2nd and 3rd spots. South Korea’s Jin Ye Oh won the Olympic Gold, after creating a new Olympic Record of 243.2.
Finding herself in second place, with a lead of 0.1 with one shot to decide the Bronze medal, Manu Bhaker shot an excellent 10.3. The shot meant that her opponent, South Korea’s Kim Yeji needed to score above 10.4 to avoid bronze. Unfortunately for Manu Bhaker, that’s exactly what happened. Missing out on Silver by 0.1 points must surely feel bad.
Following her fantastic showing in the Finals, Manu Bhaker talked about her achievement. The shooter said, “For me, the feeling is really surreal. I feel that I did a good job. I put in a lot of effort. And even till the last shot I was fighting with all the energy that I had. This is a bronze. And I’m really grateful that I could win a bronze for India. Maybe (something) better next time.”
In the post-match interview, Bhaker talked about her mindset during the final stages of the day. “Just do what you are meant to do. Do what you are supposed to do,” stated Manu. Further, she talked about taking inspiration from the Bhagavad Gita where Lord Krishna tells Arjuna to focus on his Karma and not on the outcome of his Karma.
Manu’s Bronze medal means that she became the first-ever woman to win an Olympic medal for India in shooting. But the Haryana athlete’s Olympic journey isn’t over yet. She is now all set to play in the 25m Air Pistol event which starts from tomorrow. Surely a Bronze medal win would bring with it all the confidence for Manu Bhaker to win 2 medals for India!
