Olympian Manu Bhaker’s previous tweets reminding former Haryana sports minister Anil Vij of a ₹2 crore cash incentive pledge went viral on Sunday, following her historic bronze medal in the 10m air pistol event at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Manu Bhaker made history as the first Indian shooter to win gold in the Youth Olympics in October 2018.
Following her historic achievement, Vij tweeted, “Congratulations to Manu Bhaker for winning shooting gold in the Youth Olympics.”
“Haryana government will provide Manu Bhaker a cash prize of ₹2 crore for winning the gold. Previous governments used to pay only ₹10 lakh,” he stated in another tweet.
On January 4, 2019, about three months after the announcement of the monetary incentive, the shooter uploaded images of Vij’s tweet and asked, “Sir, please confirm whether it is accurate… “Or just Jumla.”
Bhaker also believed that someone in the Haryana government was playing “games” with the money that would be paid to the medalists.
Anil Vij sought an apology from the ace shooter, citing the manner in which she voiced her disappointment at not obtaining the promised financial award. He claimed Bhaker should have sought confirmation from the sports department before making her concern public.
The minister called it “disgusting” to criticize a state administration that gave the biggest monetary prizes in the country. He stated that Bhaker will receive the promised ₹2 crore.
Vij also urged players to show “some sense of discipline,” adding Bhaker should apologize for starting the controversy.
“She has a long way to go. She should focus on her game only,” he tweeted.
After Bhaker won bronze at the Paris Olympics, social media users dug up their heated exchange.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi also shared images of Anil Vij’s tweet slamming Bhaker’s decision to go public, writing, “Shamelessly will now seek to take credit any minute for her bronze win at the #ParisOlympics2024”.
