Manu Bhaker and Sarabjot Singh make history with bronze at Paris 2024 Olympics

Indian shooters Manu Bhaker and Sarabjot Singh have etched their names into Olympic history by clinching the bronze medal in the 10m air pistol mixed team event at the Paris 2024 Olympics. This victory marks India’s sixth Olympic medal in shooting and the nation’s first-ever medal in a shooting team event. Moreover, Manu Bhaker has made history as the first athlete from independent India to win two medals in a single Olympic Games.

A Historic Achievement for Indian Shooting

The mixed team shooting event at the National Shooting Centre in Chateauroux witnessed a thrilling contest. Manu Bhaker and Sarabjot Singh faced the Republic of Korea’s Oh Ye Jin and Wonho Lee in the bronze medal match. The Indian pair emerged victorious with a score of 16-10. Notably, Oh Ye Jin had previously secured the gold medal in the women’s 10m air pistol event just days earlier.

Manu Bhaker demonstrated her prowess by starting with a stellar 10.2 on her opening shot. Despite Sarabjot Singh’s initial 8.6, which allowed the South Koreans to take the first two points, he quickly rebounded with impressive scores of 10.5, 10.4, and 10, helping India secure the subsequent six points. Bhaker maintained a high standard throughout, hitting at least a 10 on her first seven shots. Although Oh Ye Jin’s consistency brought the match close, the decisive moment came with Sarabjot Singh’s 10.2 on the final shot, sealing the bronze for India.

Detailed Performance Breakdown

In the high-pressure final, Bhaker and Singh delivered a total of 19 shots scoring at least 10, while the South Koreans managed 12 such shots. The Indian team had earlier finished third in the qualifying round, trailing behind Turkiye’s Sevval Ilayda Tarhan and Yusuf Dikec, and Serbia’s Zorana Arunovic and Damir Mikec. Serbia eventually clinched gold with a 16-14 victory over Turkiye.

This marks a notable achievement as the only other instance where Indian shooters won two medals in a single Olympics was at London 2012, when Gagan Narang and Vijay Kumar won silver and bronze respectively. The Paris 2024 Games have already seen two of India’s six Olympic shooting medals, with the nation having blanked in shooting events at Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.

Future Prospects and Additional Results

Manu Bhaker is set to compete in the women’s 25m pistol event starting on Friday. She remains the sole athlete from the 21-member Indian shooting team participating in multiple individual events. Meanwhile, in the men’s trap qualification, Prithviraj Tondaiman finished 21st with a score of 118/125, failing to advance to the final. In the women’s trap event, Rajeshwari Kumari and Shreyasi Singh ended Day 1 in 21st and 22nd positions, respectively, both scoring 68.