On Tuesday, Manu Bhaker and Sarabjot Singh won bronze at the 10m air pistol mixed team competition between South Korea and India for 10m air pistol mixed team bronze medal. Prime Minister Narendra Modi sent his best wishes via Twitter and encouraged them to keep up their excellent work.
Bhaker was the first Indian since independence to win two medals at any single Olympics edition, making her India’s inaugural winner at these Olympic games.
India’s First Shooting Medal in 12 Years
After Manu Bhaker gave India its inaugural Olympic medal by capturing bronze in the 10m air pistol individual event on Sunday, she joined Sarabjot Singh to secure another one in team 10m air pistol mixed competition, defeating Lee Wonho and Oh Ye Jin from South Korea by 16-10 and winning bronze together.
India won its inaugural shooting medal since 2012 thanks to 22-year-old Manu from Jhajjar. Manu’s achievement is testament to her immense mental strength and resilience that one typically doesn’t associate with someone her age.
At the qualifying round, she shot an outstanding 580 in women’s 10m air rifle to advance in medal contention. After falling to sixth in set three, however, she battled back and scored 20.5 in four successive sets to claim five wins consecutively and advance into the final against Korean duo Rhythm Sangwan and Arjun Babuta for medal glory.
First Indian Woman to Win an Olympic Medal
Manu Bhaker made history this week when she made history herself by becoming the first Indian woman ever to win an Olympic medal, when she and Sarabjot Singh claimed bronze at Paris Olympic’s 10m air pistol mixed team event (winning 16-10 against South Korean pair Oh Ye Jin and Lee Won-ho).
This victory marks a pivotal turning point for 22-year-old shooter Sanjana Kaur, who became synonymous with India’s humiliating failure at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. Her tearful tears at Chateauroux Range were one of her defining images; today it stands out as being just another momentous milestone on her path toward redemption.
This time around, she was determined to do things the right way and approached the Games with an open mindset, taking violin lessons online in order to keep her mind fresh and be guided by Jaspal Rana who believed in her ability. She made India proud, even Prime Minister Modi extended his congratulations. Bollywood celebrities and personalities also extended their best wishes on social media.
First Indian Shooter to Win Two Medals in a Single Event
Manu Bhaker shone through with grace while teaming with Sarabjot Singh to win India its second bronze in the 10m air pistol mixed team event on Tuesday at Chateauroux shooting range in France. At 22-years-old she became India’s first shooter to clinch multiple medals during a single Olympic edition as her and Sarabjot defeated South Korean duo Lee Wonoho and Oh Ye Jin 16-10 for bronze medal.
Jhajjar-born shooter opened with an impressive 50.4 score but experienced some misfires in series two that caused them to drop to third place before showing a strong showing in series three to surpass South Korean competitors and win outright.
Manu Bhaker received numerous compliments for her Olympic performances on social media from well-known personalities. Prime Minister Narendra Modi personally extended his good wishes, noting “Manu has broken another record due to hard work and perseverance” while feeling pride for winning two medals at these Games.
First Indian Mixed Team to Win a Bronze Medal
After winning the 10m air pistol individual event, Manu Bhaker and Sarabjot Singh joined forces to defeat Korean duo Oh Ye Jin and Lee Wonho to bring home India its second bronze medal at Paris Olympic.
This marks the first time a mixed Indian shooting pair has won an Olympic medal and became the inaugural team to do so under the new format of shooting sport.
After their victory, Manu and Sarabjot quickly returned to practice halls where they continued practicing for their match against Korea. Rana was thrilled for Manu but did not take credit. He knew her hard work and dedication had contributed towards winning her match and praised her resilience when faced with setbacks while always striving for improvement; adding that Manu’s success will encourage other athletes in excelling their sport.
