Shillong, July 28: Indian shooter Manu Bhaker has made history at the Paris 2024 Olympics by securing the bronze medal in the women’s 10m air pistol final with a score of 221.7. At 22 years old, Bhaker has become the first Indian woman to win an Olympic medal in shooting.
Bhaker faced a tough competition from Trinh Thu Vinh of Vietnam and Li Xue of China, managing to clinch the podium finish. This victory comes three years after a pistol malfunction ended her Tokyo 2020 campaign prematurely.
Bhaker’s achievement in Paris adds to her impressive track record. She was the first Indian shooter and the first female athlete from India to win a gold medal at the Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires in 2018. She has also won titles at the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games.
In the women’s 10m air pistol final, shooters from the Republic of Korea dominated, with Oh Ye Jin setting a new Olympic record with a score of 243.2, surpassing Vitalina Batsarashkina’s score of 240.3 from Tokyo 2020.
In the men’s 10m air rifle qualification round, Indian shooter Arjun Babuta ranked seventh with a score of 630.1, securing a spot in the final. However, Sandeep Singh, another Indian shooter in the event, finished 12th with a score of 629.3.
