“There’s always a first time for something” - Paris 2024 Olympics star Manu Bhaker on becoming first Indian female shooter to win an Olympic medal
Indian pistol shooter Manu Bhaker, who scripted Olympic history by winning two bronze medals in the ongoing Paris 2024 Olympics, expressed her pride in becoming the first Indian female shooter to win an Olympic medal.
Speaking in an interview organized by the International Shooting Sport Federation, the 22-year-old shooting sensation said:
“I believe that there's always a first time for something. I'm so grateful that I was the first [female shooter] to do so [win an Olympic medal], and I hope that this doesn't stop here. Now that we have already gotten the medals, we start from here and we win as many medals as possible.”
Manu Bhaker won two bronze medals in the ongoing Paris 2024 Olympics, with the first one coming in the women’s 10m air pistol event. Bhaker spoke about her first thoughts after she realized that she had secured a podium finish in the individual event, saying:
“I was only focused on the next shot. So I was like, how I will shoot my best [in] as many shots as I'm given to shoot. So no matter what the rankings are, no matter how I'll finish, either if I win gold or silver or bronze, or even if it's an elimination for me, I will try my best and I will not give up in any shot.”
Manu Bhaker’s double medal win at the Paris 2024 Games has been a story of incredible redemption. The pistol ace faced heartbreak after her gun jammed in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, denying her a fair shot at the medals. However, her experience in Tokyo has been a learning one for her, which has helped in this year’s Summer Olympic Games.
“Tokyo was a huge lesson for me in terms of emotional development and also the technical aspect,” Manu Bhaker said in the interview. “I've improved a lot. And coming from there, I have a lot of experience.”
“I have like grown a lot in terms of handling situations better, handling the match pressure better. So I would say that experience teaches any person a lot of things in life and when experience is put to good use, you can certainly make the best out of it. And I would say that I did,” she added.
“It’s like a festival” - Manu Bhaker on the love of Indian fans for Olympic sports
Manu Bhaker also expressed her admiration for the way the Indian fans, back home, supported her journey at the ongoing Paris 2024 Olympics. Despite never being among the top half of the medal winners in the Olympic Games, both the Indian contingents and fans have never failed to show off their enthusiasm for the sporting events on display.
“I think in India it [Olympics] is like a less like a sport [and] more like a huge celebration. People come together, people cheer for India together. So I think it's like a festival rather than a sport,” Bhaker said in the interview.
“I’m so grateful that I come from a sports background and that too from India. Because being an Indian and in sports, there’s nothing more I could’ve asked from god. Everyone has always been there through thick and thin. Sometimes it was not so good for me, like after Tokyo [Olympics]. But now I hope it’s going to be good,” she added.
However, Manu Bhaker is yet to see the social media frenzy that her historic double bronze win has caused back home in India, as her social media usage was restricted during her Olympic Games stint.
“I had very little time to react [after the bronze win] because I had matches to shoot the very next day. Also, I had another match [25m rapid fire pistol women’s event],” she said.
The shooter from Haryana was congratulated on her landmark victory by Indian sporting stalwarts such as Gautam Gambhir and Abhinav Bindra, as well as the country’s Prime Minister.