Sports

India Wins First Medal at Paris Olympics 2024 as Manu Bhaker Secures Bronze

The first Indian to win a medal in the current games is 22-year-old shooter Manu Bhaker, who took home the bronze in the women’s 10m air pistol final at the Paris Olympics 2024. Bhaker was also the first Indian woman to win an Olympic medal in shooting. For the remainder of the competition, Bhaker remained in the top three thanks to his remarkable skill and poise. With one shot remaining, she was 0.1 points ahead of the lead in second place, but she fell to third and finished with the bronze. India’s goal in the Paris Olympics is to beat its own record of seven medals from the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, which it set with this triumph.

Qualification Highlights

Bhaker did well in the qualifying rounds, which helped him get to the final. On Saturday, July 27, she rebounded from a difficult day for Indian shooting to finish third with a score of 580. Veronika Major, a Hungarian shooter, had the highest qualification score of 582, while Rhythm Sangwan, another Indian competitor, came in 15th place with a 573.

Bhaker put herself in fourth place after scoring 97 points in the opening series. Despite Sangwan dropping to 26th after a subpar round, she continued her form in the second set with another 97. With a superb 98 in the third series, Bhaker advanced to second position. Her single major error came in the fifth series, where she received an 8, yet she still qualified for the final.

Also Read: Paris Olympics 2024 Day 1: Manu Bhaker Advances to Women’s Pistol Final Amid Shooting Setbacks

Other Indian Performances

Ramita Jindal of India qualified for an Olympic final in Paris in addition to Bhaker’s achievement. With a score of 631.5, Jindal placed sixth in the women’s 10m air rifle qualifying. Elavenil Valarivan, another Indian competitor, finished 10th with a score of 630.7, meaning he was not able to make it to the final. Jindal, who won a bronze medal in the Asian Games in Hangzhou, is the second shooter from India to qualify for the final round of these competitions after Bhaker.