Manu Bhaker became the first Indian woman shooter to win an Olympic medal by clinching bronze in the women’s 10m air pistol event at the Paris Olympics on Sunday. Bhaker, a 22-year-old shooter, finished just 0.1 points behind South Korea’s Kim Yeji, who took silver, while another South Korean, Oh Ye Jin, won the gold.
This triumph comes three years after Bhaker’s disappointing experience at the Tokyo Olympics, where a pistol malfunction derailed her performance. Her Paris victory adds to her impressive record, as she is a nine-time World Cup medallist and now joins the elite list of Indian shooters who have secured an Olympic medal. Bhaker’s bronze marks her as only the fifth Indian shooter to achieve this feat.
On the first day of the Paris Olympics, Manu Bhaker demonstrated her skill by finishing third in the women’s 10m air pistol qualification round with a score of 580. She also shot the highest number of perfect scores (27) in the qualification, securing her spot in the final. This accomplishment makes her the first Indian woman to reach an Olympic final in an individual shooting event in two decades, following Suma Shirur’s trailblazing effort in the 10m air rifle event at the Athens Olympics in 2004.
Bhaker’s achievement is also notable as she is the first Indian woman to qualify for the 10m air pistol women’s final round at any Olympics. This bronze adds to India’s Olympic shooting medal tally, which previously included four medals—all won by male shooters.
The list of Indian shooting medallists at the Olympics includes:
- Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, silver in men’s double trap at Athens 2004
- Abhinav Bindra, gold in men’s 10m air rifle at Beijing 2008
- Gagan Narang, bronze in men’s 10m air rifle at London 2012
- Vijay Kumar, silver in men’s 25m rapid fire pistol at London 2012
Before Bhaker’s success in Paris, India’s last shooting medals were won in London 2012. Her historic bronze not only breaks new ground for Indian women shooters but also reignites the nation’s presence in Olympic shooting events.