Bhaker's historic bronze: First Indian woman shooter on Olympic podium

Ends shooting’s 12-year Olympic drought, opens India’s medal count in Paris

- S KANNAN

Manu Bhaker stood in the shooting lane, squeezing the trigger as if her life depended on it. The air pistol final on Sunday at the Paris 2024 Olympics was high-stress, high-pressure. Over a billion people were praying for her. And she delivered — a historic bronze medal for India. No Indian markswoman had ever won an Olympic medal in the Summer Games before, and history will always salute her for it.

Rifle shooters Ramita Jindal and Arjun Babuta boosted the team’s morale by qualifying for the finals in their respective 10m air rifle events. Jindal secured a spot in the women’s final, while Babuta made it to the men’s final, keeping India’s hopes alive for additional medals in the competition.

Bhaker secured a bronze medal with a commendable score of 221.7 in a closely contested match. The competition saw South Korean shooters dominating the top positions, with Kim Yeji clinching the silver medal, scoring 241.3 points. Jin Ye Oh, another Korean competitor, set a new Games record with an impressive 243.2 points, earning her the gold medal.