Manu Bhaker and Sarabjot Singh Won Bronze Medals: Manu Bhaker created history as she became the first Indian athlete to win two Olympic medals in the same year when she won the bronze medal match in the mixed 10m air pistol event alongside Sarabjot Singh in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Both of these shooters have been busy at the Paris Games. While Sarabjot failed to make it to the men’s 10m air pistol final by the smallest of margins, Manu not only made it to the women’s 10m air pistol final but also won the bronze medal, winning India their first medal at these games.
In the qualifying round for the mixed 10m pistol event, the Indian pair finished third. That did not mean that they made it to a final or to a quarterfinal like the other events, but that put India in the bronze medal match alongside the team that finished fourth South Korea.
The South Korean team consisted of Wonho Lee and Oh Ye Jin, the latter of which won the gold medal in the women’s 10m air pistol event ahead of Bhaker.
In the mixed 10m air pistol medal matches, every shooter takes one shot per round, and the combined score of a team is calculated. The team with the higher combined score wins the round and wins two points. The team that makes it the 16 points (or eight rounds) wins the match.
Manu Bhaker and Sarabjot Singh Won Bronze Medals
India got off to a poor start. While Manu shot a 10.2, Sarabjot’s 8.6 landed the team on 18.8, which lost to the Koreans’ 20.5.
However, India came roaring back into the final with an unreal 10.7 and 10.5 by Bhaker and Singh as the Koreans could not keep up. India won the third, fourth, and fifth rounds as well. While Sarabjot Singh was inconsistent, Manu Bhaker was on song, scoring 10.7 and 10.5 like nobody’s business.
Some fantastic shooting saw the Korean duo take round six, while India came right back with a round seven win. In the eighth round, a poor shot by Bhaker cost India the rouns. For those keeping scores, India were ahead by 10-6 at this point.
In the ninth round, India got away by a cat’s hair, winning by just 0.1 points. A solid showing in round 10 brought India to the cusp of another medal, with scores being 14-6.
But like one final twist in a thriller novella, South Korea took the next two rounds, making Indian fans skip a beat or two.
With the score at 14-10 and three rounds remaining, Manu shot a disappointing 9.4. But the Korean duo shot 9.0 and 9.5, with a 9.2 needed to win, Sarabjot Singh shot a 10.0 and won India the match and the bronze medal.
Sarabjot, participating in his first Olympics, won a medal for India. On the other hand, Manu Bhaker scripted history by becoming the first Indian athlete to win two medals at a single Olympic.
Following the win, Bhaker had this to say,
“I feel really proud and a lot of gratitude… It is just a blessing. Thank you so much for all the blessings and love. We can only control what is in our hands. I had a chat with my father regarding this before coming here and decided we keep fighting till the last shot.”
But the Indian shooting contingent at the 2024 Paris Olympics isn’t done yet. As of now, Indians are participating in the men’s and women’s trap qualification rounds, the final of which will be played later today. Over the next couple of days, Aishwary Singh and Sift Kaur Samra will compete in the men’s and women’s 50m rifle three positions events. There will also be skeet and rapid shooting events.
Even Manu Bhaker isn’t done yet, as she and Esha Singh will participate in the women’s 25m air pistol event on August 2.
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