Manu Bhaker Makes History with Double Bronze at Paris Olympics

India’s shooting star Manu Bhaker made history on Tuesday by becoming the first Indian to win two medals at the same Olympics. Bhaker, alongside her partner Sarabjot Singh, secured a bronze medal in the 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team event. Earlier, Bhaker had clinched another bronze in the Women’s Individual 10m Air Pistol event.

The duo triumphed over South Korea’s Lee Wonho and Oh Ye Jin with a score of 16-10 in the bronze medal play-off. This victory increased India’s medal tally to two at the Paris Olympics. Both Bhaker and Sarabjot demonstrated remarkable consistency, regularly hitting scores of 10 throughout the series against the Korean team.

The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) celebrated the achievement, stating, “India wins bronze in the mixed team 10m air pistol as @realmanubhaker and @Sarabjotsingh30 beat Korea’s Oh Ye Jin & Lee Won Ho 16-10 in the bronze match. Second medal for Manu at the Games. History!”

On Monday, Manu-Sarabjot finished third in the qualification round with a total score of 580-20x points. The gold medal match will feature Turkiye (582-18x) and Serbia (581-24x).

During the qualification round, each shooter had 30 minutes to fire 30 shots, with each series comprising 10 shots per player. The top four teams advanced to the medal rounds, where the first and second teams competed for gold, and the third and fourth teams contended for bronze.

Manu-Sarabjot started strong, securing 193 points in their first series, with Manu scoring 98 and Sarabjot 95. They improved in their second series, achieving 195 points (Manu 98, Sarabjot 97), and ended their third series with 192 points (Manu 95, Sarabjot 97). Their final score was an impressive 580-20x.