In a major victory for the Indian contingent at the Paris Olympics, ace Indian shooter Manu Bhaker brought the country its first medal in the ongoing mega event as she won a bronze medal with a score of 221.7. Achieving a milestone, she has become the first Indian woman to win a medal in shooting at the Olympics. Yesterday, she scripted history as she became the first Indian woman in 20 years to reach a shooting final in an individual event at the Olympics since Suma Shirur in 2004.
South Korea’s Ye Jin clinched the gold medal with an Olympic record of 243.2 points. Her compatriot, Kim Yeji settled for silver with 241.3 points.
I read Geeta a lot and was only focused on Krishna’s words to Arjun: Manu Bhaker
After making a coveted podium finish, Manu Bhaker shared that during the match she was only focusing on Karma as she drew inspiration from Lord Krishna and Bhagwat Geeta.
During a post-match interaction, she revealed that she has a habit of reading Bhagwat Geeta and was acting on the lessons imparted by Lord Krishna to Arjun during the match. She emphasised that her only focus was on doing her job rather than thinking about its outcome as she had Lord Krishna’s words in the back of her mind.
She said, “We are looking forward to as many events as possible this time and winning more medals. The entire team has really worked hard. Personally, for me, the feeling is surreal that I did a good job and put in a lot of effort. Even till the last shot, I was fighting with all the energy that I had. I am really grateful that I could win a bronze for India.”
Olympic Medalist Manu Bhaker attributes her success to the learnings of the Bhagavad Gita 🚩
— BALA (@erbmjha) July 28, 2024
My advice to the Leftists: Do not watch this video 😂 pic.twitter.com/8He6pQab0n
Responding to the query about what was going through her mind in the final moments, she said, “Honestly, I read a lot of Geeta. What was going on in my mind was to do what I could do, what I was supposed to do, and leave everything as you can’t control the destiny or outcome of it. In Geeta, Krishna says to Arjun, ‘You focus on your karma and not on the outcome of the Karma. Only that was running in my mind. Just do your thing and let it all be.”
She later posted on X, dedicating her victory to her country. She also expressed her gratitude to the National Rifle Association of India, the Sports Authority of India, the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, Coach Jaspal Rana, the Haryana government and the Olympic Gold Quest.
Winning this medal is a dream come true, not just for me but for everyone who has supported me. I am deeply grateful to the NRAI, SAI, Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, Coach Jaspal Rana sir, Haryana government and OGQ. I dedicate this victory to my country for their incredible… pic.twitter.com/hnzGjNwUhv
— Manu Bhaker🇮🇳 (@realmanubhaker) July 28, 2024
Redemption for the ace Indian shooter
Her bronze medal at the Paris Olympics is seen as a redemption arc for the ace Indian shooter, who missed a podium chance at the last mega event by a whisker. Incidentally, the budding Indian athlete missed making it to the finals last time by just 2 points as her pistol had malfunctioned at a crucial juncture.
In the Tokyo Olympics, her pistol malfunctioned during the qualifications and it left her heartbroken as it derailed her debut Olympic outing and denied her a podium finish.
It all unfolded as a technical snag in her pistol stole six precious minutes and it started mounting pressure on her as she had to finish the remaining shots in the reduced time limit. After consulting her coach Ronak Pandit, she found out that a lever in the pistol was broken and it was preventing the barrel from functioning smoothly.
When they updated the jury about her problem, they only allowed her to replace the defective part instead of the entire gun. When she returned to the shooting lane, she had already lost over six minutes and despite all her efforts, she fell just 2 points short of making it to the finals.
She was deeply shattered as the pistol malfunction bereft her of the Olympic medal despite her blistering start at the mega event. Now, three years later, she has redeemed her moment making it to the podium and winning the first medal for the country in the ongoing Olympics.
It is pertinent to note that Bhaker, who hails from Jhajjar, Haryana, a state known for world-class boxers and wrestlers had also tried her hands at boxing. She also participated in a form of martial arts called ‘thang ta’, winning medals at the national level.
Bhaker also took other sports like tennis and skating before taking up shooting in 2016. She tried her hand at shooting when she was just 14 years of age and the 2016 Rio Olympics had just ended. A year later, in the 2017 national shooting championships, she stunned Olympian and former world No. 1 Heena Sidhu and marked her presence in the shooting world. Ever since then, she has only risen through the ranks to become India’s latest shooting star and register her name among Olympic medallists.
