Olympics 2024: Manu Bhaker becomes first woman shooter to win medal

Manu Bhaker wins first medal for India at the Paris Olympics 2024. With the Bronze medal, Bhaker also ended India's drought from Shooting discipline in previous two Olympics

India's star shooter Manu Bhaker clinched India's first medal of the Paris Olympics 2024 by winning Bronze in the women's 10m air pistol final and made her way into the history books as the first Indian woman to win a medal in the 10m air pistol event at the Summer Olympic Games.

A resilient Bhaker ended India's 12-year wait for a shooting medal in the Olympics by becoming the first markswoman from the country to finish on the podium with a bronze.

The last time India won medal in shooting at the Olympics was in 2012 London edition when rapid-fire pistol shooter Vijay Kumar and 10m air rifle marksman Gagan Narang clinched bronze.

 

Indian shooting endured two Olympics without a medal before the 22-year-old Manu fought hard to get the bronze with a score of 221.7.

Korea's Kim Yeji claimed the silver with a total of 241.3 while her compatriot Jin Ye Oh snared the gold with a Games record of 243.2.

Reacting to 22-year-old Manu's achievement, her grandmother said," I bless her. She has done a great job. We will all welcome her once she is here. I will prepare a special food for her..."

#WATCH | Haryana: Olympic medalist Manu Bhaker's grandmother says, "I bless her. She has done a great job. We will all welcome her once she is here. I will prepare a special food for her..."

Shooter Manu Bhaker wins bronze medal in Women’s 10 M Air Pistol at #ParisOlympics2024 pic.twitter.com/FZC3wN7A49

— ANI (@ANI) July 28, 2024

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Paris Olympics 2024 MEDAL TALLY

Manu Bhaker had redemption in her mind as soon as she stepped foot in Paris.

Going into the final, she became the first Indian woman shooter in two decades to reach an Olympic final in an individual event. The previous instance was Suma Shirur's performance in the 10m Air Rifle event at the Athens 2004 Olympics.

Additionally, she made history as the first Indian woman to advance to the final round of the 10m Air Pistol event at any Olympic Games.

Despite experiencing a pistol malfunction during the qualifications at the Tokyo 2021 Olympics that left her in tears, she had showcased the level of performance expected from an athlete with numerous international medals in the qualification round as well.

Who is Manu Bhaker? The girl from Haryana

Manu Bhaker is a well-known Indian sport shooter who was born in Jhajjar, Haryana, on February 18, 2002. She is well-known for her extraordinary pistol shooting abilities. After first experimenting with boxing, tennis, and skating, Bhaker found her love for shooting and made a sensational breakthrough on the world scene in 2017.

Manu Bhaker achievements

Her big break came in the 10m Air Pistol competition at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, where she became the first Indian shooter to win a gold medal. At ISSF World Cup competitions, she has also won numerous medals, including gold for both mixed and individual teams.

At the age of 16 years, Bhaker won gold in the 2018 ISSF World Cup in Guadalajara, her first significant triumph.

At the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia, and the Asian Games in Jakarta, where she and Abhishek Verma won gold in the mixed team 10m Air Pistol event, she maintained her winning streak.

In 2020, she received recognition for her achievements with the Arjuna Award. 

Full list of medal winners in Summer Olympics Games history
Athlete	Medal	Event	Olympics
Manu Bhaker	Bronze	Shooting, 10m Air Pistol	Paris 2024
Mirabai Chanu	Silver	Women's 49kg weightlifting	Tokyo 2020
Lovlina Borgohain	Bronze	Women's welterweight boxing	Tokyo 2020
PV Sindhu	Bronze	Women's singles badminton	Tokyo 2020
Ravi Kumar Dahiya	Silver	Men's 57kg wrestling	Tokyo 2020
Indian hockey team	Bronze	Men's hockey	Tokyo 2020
Bajrang Punia	Bronze	Men's 65kg wrestling	Tokyo 2020
Neeraj Chopra	Gold	Men's javelin throw	Tokyo 2020
PV Sindhu	Silver	Women's singles badminton	Rio 2016
Sakshi Malik	Bronze	Women's 58kg wrestling	Rio 2016
Sushil Kumar	Silver	Men's 66kg wrestling	London 2012
Vijay Kumar	Silver	Men's 25m rapid pistol shooting	London 2012
Saina Nehwal	Bronze	Women's singles badminton	London 2012
Mary Kom	Bronze	Women's flyweight boxing	London 2012
Yogeshwar Dutt	Bronze	Men's 60kg wrestling	London 2012
Gagan Narang	Bronze	Men's 10m air rifle shooting	London 2012
Abhinav Bindra	Gold	Men's 10m air rifle shooting	Beijing 2008
Vijender Singh	Bronze	Men's middleweight boxing	Beijing 2008
Sushil Kumar	Bronze	Men's 66kg wrestling	Beijing 2008
Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore	Silver	Men's double trap shooting	Athens 2004
Karnam Malleswari	Bronze	Women's 54kg weightlifting	Sydney 2000
Leander Paes	Bronze	Men's singles tennis	Atlanta 1996
Indian hockey team	Gold	Men's hockey	Moscow 1980
Indian hockey team	Bronze	Men's hockey	Munich 1972
Indian hockey team	Bronze	Men's hockey	Mexico City 1968
Indian hockey team	Gold	Men's hockey	Tokyo 1964
Indian hockey team	Silver	Men's hockey	Rome 1960
Indian hockey team	Gold	Men's hockey	Melbourne 1956
KD Jadhav	Bronze	Men's bantamweight wrestling	Helsinki 1952
Indian hockey team	Gold	Men's hockey	Helsinki 1952
Indian hockey team	Gold	Men's hockey	London 1948
Indian hockey team	Gold	Men's hockey	Berlin 1936
Indian hockey team	Gold	Men's hockey	Los Angeles 1932
Indian hockey team	Gold	Men's hockey	Amsterdam 1928
Norman Pritchard	Silver	Men's 200m	Paris 1900
Norman Pritchard	Silver	Men's 200m hurdles	Paris 1900