Manu Bhaker scripts history at Paris Olympics

Chateauroux (France): A calm and composed Manu Bhaker scripted history to become the first Indian athlete in post-independence era to win two Olympic medals in a single edition of the Games as she combined with an equally unruffled Sarabjot Singh to clinch the 10m air pistol mixed team bronze here on Tuesday.

The Indian pair defeated the Korean duo of Lee Wonoho and Oh Yeh Jin 16-10 to earn the country its second medal at Chateauroux's shooting range. The 22-year-old Bhaker had earlier snared the women's 10m air pistol bronze medal at the same venue on Sunday, wiping off the memories of a horrendous Olympic debut in Tokyo 2020 where her pistol malfunctioned leaving her in tears.

Before her, British-Indian athlete Norman Pritchard had won two silver medals in 200m sprint and 200m hurdles at the 1900 Olympics, but that achievement had come in the pre-Independence era. While it is a massive achievement for women’s sport in the country, Tuesday’s medal is also redemption for Sarabjot, who had failed to make the men’s 10m air pistol final, finishing ninth on Saturday with a score of 577.

“I’m feeling really proud and there is a lot of gratitude, thanks for all the blessings” said Bhaker after the match, which the two young Indians played with remarkable poise to make it a one-sided contest. “Actually, we can’t control (what the rivals will do), we can do what is in our hand, me and my partner thought let’s just try our best and we will keep fighting till the end,” added the shooter from Jhajjar in Haryana. In Tokyo, she could not even qualify for this event alongside Saurabh Chaudhary and had finished seventh.

Ambala shooter Sarabjot, who passed through a difficult phase trying to come to terms with the disappointment of the individual competition just three days back, said he was under a lot of pressure to perform. “I’m feeling good, the game was very tough and there was a lot of pressure, I am very happy,” said the 22-year-old Sarabjot, who comes from a farming family.

The Indians started on the wrong foot with Sarabjot’s opening shot fetching a poor 8.6, while Bhaker shot 10.2 for an aggregate of 18.8. The Koreans aggregated 20.5 to take the opening round and open a 2-0 lead. In mixed team events, the pair that reaches 16 points first wins the medal. Down 0-2, Bhaker’s consistency came to the fore and it rubbed off on Sarabjot as the pair took the next four rounds to take their tally to 8-2. Such was her level of confidence that Bhaker had just three shots below 10 in the entire contest which lasted 13 rounds.

It was an uphill task for the Koreans who succumbed to pressure and could not match their rivals losing 16-10. “It’s all about keeping it steady,” Bhaker said, adding that the high-speed and high-precision sport requires a steady mind. “We don’t need to be in a hurry, just relax and breath. Shooting is the kind of sport where it’s all about nerves, your heart beats heavily, we can’t move, we have to stand at one place,” she explained.

“Actually, we can’t control everything. So, I just looked to get my best out, gave all our energy in all the shots, just didn’t give up and kept trying hard in every shot,” she said.

Sarabjot said he has been trying hard to forget the disappointment of his individual performance. “It was in my mind that I should just forget the last shot and focus on new one and give my best now. I can’t express what I feel when I see India India winning a medal.”

Bhaker will next be seen in action in the 25m women’s pistol qualification on August 2 and has a good chance of making the finals. She had won gold medals in this event at the 2023 World Championships and the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games.

The prodigal talent’s long list of honours also includes nine World Cup gold medals across events. Sarabjot is also a World Championship, World Cup and Asian Games gold-medalist.