India bagged its first in the Paris Olympics 2024. Shooter Manu Bhaker has made history by securing India’s first medal, winning bronze in the Women’s 10m Air Pistol final at the event.

This achievement marks a significant milestone as she has become the first Indian woman to win a shooting medal at the Olympic Games.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the 22-year-old from Haryana to congratulate her on this remarkable feat.

Bhaker’s triumph not only opens India’s medal account at the 2024 Paris Olympics but also places her among the elite shooters like Abhinav Bindra, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Vijay Kumar, and Gagan Narang, who have previously won Olympic medals for India.

After winning the medal, Bhaker recounted the tense final moments of the event. She had climbed to the second spot with three shooters remaining but narrowly missed out on silver by 0.1 points to Korea’s Kim Yeji in a shoot-off.

Bhaker revealed that during the final, she was inspired by the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita. As the Gita preaches, she says that she just focussed on karma, not on the outcome of the karma.

Bhaker’s journey to this historic moment was not without challenges. She experienced a heartbreaking outing at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, where a pistol malfunction disrupted her campaign.

Despite the jury allowing the defective part to be replaced, Bhaker lost crucial time and focus, affecting her performance.

However, she became stronger with that incident. Moreover, she does not want that to affect her future performance. Now she has shown her excellent performance.

Sunday proved to be a successful day for Indian shooters, contrasting with their performances on Day 1. Arjun Babuta also qualified for the men’s 10m air rifle final, and earlier in the day, Ramita Jindal secured a spot in the women’s 10m air rifle medal event.

Manu Bhaker’s historic win at the Paris Olympics not only celebrates her resilience and determination but also inspires future generations of Indian athletes.

Image Credit: Athuer, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

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