Indian shooter Manu Bhaker ended a 12-year drought in the shooting category as she bagged a bronze in the women's singles 10M Air Pistol on Sunday, July 28. In the process, it also proved to be India's first medal in the ongoing Paris Olympics with 221.7 points. Both gold and silver in the 10M Air Pistol category went to the South Korean athletes. It's worth remembering that the 22-year-old is also the first woman shooter from India to win an olympic medal in the category.
Gagan Narang was the last shooter from India to win an olympic medal in shooting, but did it in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London in the 10m Air Rifle event. Bhaker had qualified for the finals on July 27th, Saturday by coming 3rd. The Haryana-born athlete suffered a setback three years ago in Tokyo and credited it as the precursor to performing well in Paris.
"Can't explain how good I am feeling today" - Manu Bhaker
Speaking after the match to the host broadcaster, Bhaker stated that she took a long time to recover from the fateful event in Tokyo. The youngster also disclosed that reading Bhagavad Gita has helped her massively and said, as quoted by PTI:
"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. I was fighting with all the energy I have. Really grateful that I could win the bronze. I read Bhagavad Gita and always tried to do what I am supposed to do, left everything else to god."
Here's how netizens have reacted to Manu Bhaker's accomplishment at the Paris 2024 Olympics:
