‘It feels surreal’

A resilient Manu Bhaker ended Indiarsquos 12year wait for a shooting medal in the Olympics by becoming the first markswoman from the country to finish on the podium with a bronze in the 10m air pistol event of the Paris Games here on SundayIndian shooting endured two Olympics without a medal before the 22yearold Manu fought hard to get the bronze with a score of 2217 Korearsquos Kim Yeji claimed the silver with a total of 2413 while her compatriot Jin Ye Oh snared the gold with a Games record of 2432Ramita Arjun in finalsRifle shooters Ramita Jindal and Arjun Babuta further lifted the spirits of the contingent at the scenic range located nearly 300km away from Paris by securing final spots in the 10m air rifle womenrsquos and menrsquos event respectively to keep India in the hunt for more medalsldquoAfter Tokyo I was very disappointed It took me a long time to get over thatrdquo Bhaker told Jio Cinema after her winldquoSo really grateful that I could win bronze maybe it will be better next timeldquoI feel great This medal was long due for India It feels surrealrdquo the 22yearold addedAlso ReadSharath Kamal makes shock exit Sreeja enters Round of 32 in Paris Olympics TTThe triumph opened the countryrsquos account in the Paris Games and ended a 12year wait for its muchhyped shootersBut it is has not come easy for the lively markswoman from Jhajjar in HaryanaA pistol malfunction in the qualifications at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 had reduced Bhaker to tears But over the past two days she put up an effort that is expected of an athlete who has won many medals on the international stageClose fightIt was a close final and she was also in with a chance to win silver at one stage ldquoIn the last shot I was fighting with all the energy I had Maybe I can get better in the next eventrdquoMental toughness is one area where Bhaker has worked a lot over the years with plenty of help also coming from her coach Jaspal RanaIndians in action today BadmintonMenrsquos doubles Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty v Mark Lamsfuss and Marvin Seidel Germany 1200Womenrsquos doubles Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto v Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shida Japan 1250Menrsquos singles Lakshya Sen vs Julien Carraggi Belgium 1730Archery menrsquos team quarterfinals Tarundeep Rai Dhiraj Bommadevara Pravin Jadhav 1830Shooting 10m air pistol mixed team qualification Manu Bhaker and Sarabjot Singh Rhythm Sangwan and Arjun Singh Cheema 1245Menrsquos trap qualification Prithviraj Tondaiman 130010m air rifle womenrsquos final Ramita Jindal 130010m air rifle menrsquos final Arjun Babuta 1530Hockey India v Argentina 1615Table tennis womenrsquos Singles Sreeja Akula vs Jian Zeng Singapore 2330TalkNarendra Modi narendramodi Well done realmanubhaker for winning Indiarsquos 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 achievementDr Mansukh Mandaviya mansukhmandviya A proud moment realmanubhaker wins Bharatrsquos first medal a BRONZE in Womenrsquos 10m Air Pistol at ParisOlympic2024 Congratulations Manu you have displayed your skill amp dedication you have become 1st woman shooter to win an Olympic medal for BharatThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever