India's Manu Bhaker created history at the Paris Olympics on Sunday as she became the first Indian female shooter to clinch a medal in the Games' rich history. Bhaker won a bronze medal in the 10m women's air pistol event, thus opening India's account at the Paris edition. This was also India's first Olympic medal in shooting since 2012, when Vijay Kumar and Gagan Narang (India's Chef de Mission at the 2024 Olympics) clinched silver and bronze medals, respectively.
Paris Olympics Live Updates Day 2
Following a historic achievement, Manu Bhaker talked to broadcasters JioCinema, where she spoke about the tense final moments of the medal event at the Chateauroux; Bhaker had climbed to second spot with three shooters remaining, but lost by a narrow margin of 0.1 to Korea's Kim Yeji in the shoot-off.
She revealed she was remembering the words from the Bhagavad Gita, the epic Hindu scripture, throughout the final.
“I read a lot of Gita. What was going through my mind was, just do what you are meant to do. You can't control the outcome of your destiny. In Gita, Lord Krishna says to Arjun, “Focus on karma, not on the outcome of the karma.” That was running in my head. I thought, ‘do your thing and let it all be,’" Bhaker said.
Bhaker had endured a heartbreaking outing at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, where a pistol malfunction derailed her campaign at the same event. The jury was made aware of the problem, but instead of the entire gun, they allowed the defective part to be replaced. Bhaker lost six crucial minutes throughout the forced break, which caused a lapse in concentration.
{{/usCountry}}Bhaker had endured a heartbreaking outing at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, where a pistol malfunction derailed her campaign at the same event. The jury was made aware of the problem, but instead of the entire gun, they allowed the defective part to be replaced. Bhaker lost six crucial minutes throughout the forced break, which caused a lapse in concentration.
{{/usCountry}}However, Bhaker said she wants to leave the past “remain in the past.”
"After Tokyo I was very disappointed. It took me a long time to overcome that. However, I came back stronger. What is now is what matters. Let the past remain in the past."
After an underwhelming day for shooters on Day 1, Sunday has been a contrast in performances, with Arjun Babuta also qualifying for the men's 10m air rifle final. Earlier in the day, Ramita Jindal also qualified for the women's 10m air rifle medal event.