“India should not settle with bronze” - Paris Olympics 2024 star Manu Bhaker promises better performances in upcoming tournaments
India’s pistol ace Manu Bhaker, who scripted Olympic history by winning two bronze medals in the ongoing Paris Olympics 2024, claimed that India should not settle for simply winning a bronze medal at the Olympic Games.
In an interview posted on social media by OlympicKhel after the women’s 25m pistol finals, wherein she came in the fourth position, Manu said:
“It was a great experience coming [to the Paris Olympics]. I know how much me and my team have put in effort so that I can win this medal for India. And I got to [win], so I’m grateful for that.”
“India should not settle with bronze,” she added. “I will try my best to better myself in the next [Olympics], so I'll try my best and I will give it all that I have inside of me.”
Manu Bhaker won two bronze medals in the Paris Olympics 2024, with the first one coming in the women’s 10m air pistol event. She won the second medal alongside Sarabjot Singh in the 10m air pistol mixed team event.
After a tiring Olympics campaign, 22-year-old Manu Bhaker will take some time to recharge herself before going all in at training for the upcoming tournaments, such as the 2026 Asian Games.
“I’m going to be going to take a break little break from shooting for a while, so that I can like push start again for the next cycle,” she said.
“We just need to invest a little more time and energy” - Manu Bhaker says that Indian shooting contingent is performing "really well" in Paris Olympics 2024
Manu Bhaker, who has become a household name since her trailblazing performance in the ongoing Summer Olympic Games, said that the entire 21-member shooting contingent has performed "really well" in Paris.
She highlighted the performances of Arjun Babuta, who was unlucky to return empty-handed from Paris after finishing fourth in the men’s 10m air rifle event.
“I’m very proud of all the people who made it to the finals and who did great. Especially, Arjun, he was on the fourth rank, and I feel [for] him totally because I was also fourth [in 25m air pistol] today,” Bhaker said.
“So the [shooting] contingent is doing really well. We just need to invest a little more time and energy [and] resources onto them so that they can do even better,” she added.
The Indian shooting contingent has been responsible for winning all three bronze medals that the country has won in the Paris 2024 Olympics so far. Other than the two bronze medals won by Manu Bhaker along with her partner Sarabjot Singh, rifleman Swapnil Kusale has won India’s third bronze medal in the men’s 50m air rifle 3 positions event.