Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Manu Bhaker, the first Indian to win a medal (bronze) at the ongoing Olympic Games in Paris, in a 10-meter air pistols event, won another bronze in the same event in mixed doubles with Sarabjot Singh, the media reported on Tuesday.
Manu and Sarabjot won 16-10 against South Korea’s Oh Ye Jin and Lee Wonho to win the bronze medal.
The Indian pair didn’t get off to the brightest of starts, losing the first series. But they quickly bounced back to lead 4-2 after the third series and extended it to 8-2 after five. However, South Korea closed the gap to 6-10 after the eighth series. But the Indian duo held its nerve to cruise to victory with a comfortable margin.
“I feel proud and have a lot of gratitude,” Bhaker said after the historic feat.
“Thank you so much for all the blessings and love. We can only control what is in our hands. I had a chat with my father regarding this before coming here and decided we should keep fighting till the last shot.”
Sarabjot said, “It feels great. The game was tough, but we were glad we could do it. There was a lot of pressure, but the crowd was great.”
They had finished third in qualifying on Monday with a combined score of 580.
This is Sarabjot’s first Olympic medal.
Manu, 22, is now the first Indian to win more than one medal at a single Olympic Games. She opened India’s account at the 2024 Paris Olympics with a bronze in the women’s 10m air pistol event.
In Olympic history, Manu became the sixth Indian shooter to win a medal in the Summer Olympics 2024.
The first Indian to win a medal at the Olympics in shooting was Colonel (Rtd) Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore of the Indian Army,who won a silver medal at the 2004 Olympics in Athens. He is now a minister in Rajasthan.