RNS: Shooter Manu Bhaker clinched India’s first medal at the Paris Olympics 2024, earning a historic bronze in the Women’s 10m Air Pistol final held at the Chateauroux Shooting Center.
This achievement marks Bhaker as the first Indian woman to win an Olympic medal in shooting, breaking a 12-year drought since Gagan Narang’s bronze at the 2012 London Olympics.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Bhaker on X (formerly known as Twitter), celebrating the milestone. “A historic medal! Well done, @realmanubhaker, for winning India’s FIRST medal at #ParisOlympics2024! Congrats for the Bronze. This success is even more special as she becomes the 1st woman to win a medal in shooting for India. An incredible achievement!”
Bhaker started strong, scoring 50.2 from her five shots in the first series, placing her second, just behind South Korea’s Ye Jin Oh, who led with 52.2.
She maintained her composure and scored 50.1 in the second series, bringing her total to 100.3 points.
Former shooter Abhinav Bindra, India’s first individual Gold medalist from Beijing 2008, also congratulated Bhaker.
Despite her strong performance, Bhaker was eventually surpassed by South Korea’s Ye Jin Oh and Kim Yeji, pushing her to third place by the end of the five-shot series.
The competition remained tight among the top three shooters—Bhaker, Ye Jin, and Kim—who exchanged positions throughout Stage 2, where single shots were taken.
In a dramatic turn, Bhaker momentarily overtook Kim Yeji by 0.1 points after the 21st shot to secure a medal position. However, Kim Yeji reclaimed the lead with the 22nd shot, finishing ahead of Bhaker by a narrow margin of 0.1 points to secure second place.
