Manu Bhaker clinched India’s first medal at the Paris Olympics, earning bronze in the women’s 10m pistol event with a score of 221.7 at the Chateauroux Shooting Centre. This marks India’s first shooting medal in 12 years, the last being won by Gagan Narang and Vijay Kumar in London. Bhaker’s achievement came on Sunday, where she finished just 0.1 points behind South Korea’s Oh Yejin, who took silver, while Kim Yeji of South Korea won gold.
In the qualification round, Manu finished third, making her the first Indian woman in 20 years to reach an Olympic shooting final in an individual event since Suma Shirur in 2004. Furthermore, she is the first Indian woman to qualify for the 10m air pistol women’s final at the Olympics. Earlier, Manu secured India’s quota for the Paris Olympics by finishing fifth in the women’s 25m pistol event at the 2023 Asian Shooting Championships.