Shooter Manu Bhaker Wins India's 1st Medal, Clinches Bronze

Shooter Manu Bhaker clinched India's first medal of the Paris Olympics 2024, striking bronze in Women's 10m Air Pistol final at the Chatearoux Shooting Center. By doing so, Bhaker scripted history by becoming the first Indian woman to win a medal in shooting at the Olympic games. Meanwhile, Arjun Babuta and Ramita Jindal also raised India's medal hopes by qualifying for the Men's and Women's 10m Air Rifle finals. Earlier, Rower Balraj Panwar qualified for the quarterfinals of men's single skulls after finishing second in the repechage round.

Manu Bhaker opened India's account in Paris Olympics as the country ended a 12-year wait for a medal in shooting at the Games. Manu became only the fifth shooter after Abhinav Bindra, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Vijay Kumar and Gagan Narang to win an Olympic medal in shooting.

Bhaker overcame the haunting memories of the Tokyo Olympics where the Indian shooter did not qualify for the final of even one of the three events that she competed in. Manu even decided to quit shooting last year before finding joy in the sport again. Manu was in good form in the lead-up to the Games and having faced highs and lows over the years shaped her to become the hungry shooter that she was in the range on Sunday.