In a landmark achievement for Indian sports, Manu Bhaker clinched the bronze medal in the women’s 10m air pistol event at the Paris 2024 Olympics, becoming the first Indian woman to secure an Olympic shooting medal. Her historic win on Sunday is India’s fifth Olympic medal in shooting and marks a return to form for the country in the sport after missing out in the previous two Olympic Games.

Manu Bhaker’s Historic Win at Paris 2024

The 22-year-old Manu Bhaker delivered a standout performance, scoring 221.7 in the final to secure third place among the world’s top shooters. The gold medal was claimed by Oh Ye Jin of the Republic of Korea, who set a new Olympic record with a score of 243.2. Yeji Kim, also from the Republic of Korea, took the silver medal with a final score of 241.3.

Bhaker demonstrated her prowess early in the final, beginning with a strong score of 50.4 in the initial series to secure second place. Despite a brief slip to third due to a couple of lower scores, Bhaker regained second place at various points in the competition. Ultimately, Yeji Kim edged Bhaker by a narrow margin of 0.1 points, preventing her from advancing to the gold medal round.

Past Performance and Future Prospects

Manu Bhaker’s previous Olympic outing at Tokyo 2020 was marred by a pistol malfunction that cost her crucial minutes and resulted in her falling short of the final. Her bronze medal at Paris 2024 marks a significant personal and national milestone.

India’s previous Olympic successes in shooting include Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore’s silver in men’s double trap at Athens 2004, and Abhinav Bindra’s gold in the men’s 10m air rifle at Beijing 2008. Gagan Narang and Vijay Kumar also contributed to India’s shooting medal tally with silver and bronze, respectively, at London 2012.

Upcoming Events and Additional Competitions

Manu Bhaker will continue her Olympic campaign with the 10m air pistol mixed team event scheduled for Monday, and the women’s 25m pistol event set to begin on Friday. Bhaker is the only athlete from the 21-member Indian shooting team competing in multiple individual events.

In related news, Ramita Jindal has qualified for the women’s 10m air rifle final after finishing fifth in the qualifying round with a score of 631.5. Jindal, who won bronze at the Asian Games last year, will compete in the final alongside top shooters like the Republic of Korea’s Hyojin Ban, who led the qualification with a Games record of 634.5.

  Elavenial Valarivan, Hyojin Ban, Indian shooting team, Manu Bhaker, Oh Ye Jin, Paris 2024, Ramita Jindal, Republic of Korea, Yeji Kim