Chateauroux: Manu Bhaker opened India’s medal tally at the Paris Olympics as she secured a historic bronze medal in the women’s 10m pistol event with the score of 221.7 in the final, becoming the first Indian women shooter to win a medal at the Olympics.
Manu’s bronze medal brings India its first shooting medal in 12 years since Gagan Narang and Vijay Kumar’s successes at the 2012 London Olympics.
South Korea’s Oh Ye Jin wins the gold with an Olympic record score of 243.2 points. Another Korean Ki Yejin takes the silver with 241.3 points.
With this medal, the 22-year-old Manu become the fifth Indian shooter to win a medal in the Olympic Games, joining the list of RVS Rathore (2004), Abhinav Bindra (2008), Gagan Narang (2012) and Vijay Kumar (2012), taking India’s tally in shooting at the Olympic Games to five medals — one gold, two silver and two bronze.
Earlier in the day, Manu finished third in the qualification round, becoming the first Indian woman in 20 years to reach an Olympic shooting final in an individual event since Suma Shirur’s remarkable performance in 2004.
Notably, she also became the first Indian woman to qualify for the 10m air pistol women’s final at the Olympics.
Manu’s last Olympic appearance in Tokyo 2020 ended in heartbreak when a pistol malfunction during qualifications left her in tears.
She secured India’s quota for the Paris Olympics by finishing fifth in the women’s 25m pistol event at the 2023 Asian Shooting Championships.
(IANS)
