Paris Olympics 2024: With one other bronze, Manu Bhaker turns into the primary Indian girl to win two capturing medals in a single Olympic version. Her first was within the girls’s 10m air pistol occasion and her second within the 10m air pistol combined staff occasion.
Within the luminous metropolis of Paris, the place goals usually intertwine with actuality, Manu Bhaker, a 22-year-old capturing prodigy scripted a unprecedented chapter in Indian sports activities historical past. The Paris 2024 Olympics witnessed Bhaker clinch two medals, making her the primary Indian feminine athlete to attain such a feat in a single Olympic version.
Her journey to this pinnacle was marked by relentless dedication and an unyielding spirit.
Within the girls’s 10m air pistol occasion, Bhaker secured a bronze, a victory that broke a 12-year capturing medal drought for India. “I’m so grateful that I may break the chain and get this medal,” Bhaker wrote on ‘X’.
She then joined forces with Sarabjot Singh within the 10m air pistol combined staff occasion, the place they displayed distinctive coordination and psychological fortitude to safe one other bronze, successful over Korea with a rating of 16-10.
Bhaker’s ascent within the capturing world has been nothing in need of meteoric. Born on 18 February, 2002, within the small Jhajjar district of Haryana, she initially dabbled in a wide range of sports activities — from boxing and skating to tennis and martial arts. Nonetheless, it was capturing the place she discovered her true calling.
She accomplished her education at Common Public Secondary College and graduated with an honours diploma in political science from Woman Shri Ram Faculty, College of Delhi, in 2021. At present, she is pursuing a level in public administration at Punjab College.
Her expertise in capturing turned evident on the worldwide stage in 2018 when she clinched a number of gold medals on the ISSF World Cup, changing into one of many youngest athletes to attain such a feat. Her efficiency on the 2018 Commonwealth Video games additional cemented her standing as a capturing prodigy, the place she gained gold within the girls’s 10m air pistol occasion.
Bhaker’s journey hasn’t been with out setbacks. On the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, a pistol malfunction denied her a shot at a medal in the identical occasion. Nonetheless, she remodeled that setback into a strong comeback. 4 years later, her excellent efficiency in Paris has proved she is a power to be reckoned with.
Apparently, Bhaker approached the Paris Video games with a balanced thoughts, taking on-line violin lessons within the months main as much as them! This contrasted along with her expertise in Tokyo, the place she had gone too deep into her shell. The lesson from Tokyo, she believes, was essential. “If I didn’t have that lesson in my life, perhaps I wouldn’t be right here right now,” she instructed Hindustan Occasions.
“I’m glad that at such a younger age, in my first Olympics expertise, I discovered the sort of issues that folks take years to be taught,” she added.
Should you see her prepare, her self-discipline, blended with a starvation for excellence, would simply catch your consideration. Bhaker has all the time credited her household, coaches, and assist employees for being her assist system. She says that their collective perception in her expertise has propelled her to this success.
The affect of her achievements just isn’t confined to non-public glory or her household’s delight. They’ve additionally impressed a brand new technology of Indian athletes, notably younger ladies, to pursue their goals in sports activities.
As Bhaker continues to compete, she stays a robust medal prospect within the upcoming 25m pistol occasion on the Paris Olympics. Her historic accomplishments in 2024 have already solidified her legacy in Indian sports activities, and she or he is poised to attain even better heights sooner or later.
Edited by Pranita Bhat
