Manu Bhaker and Sarabjot Singh won bronze in the 10m air pistol mixed team event, defeating South Korea 16-10 at the Paris Olympics on Tuesday.
The Indian pair didn’t get off to the brightest of starts, losing the first series. But the two quickly bounced back to lead 4-2 after the third series and extended it to 8-2 after five. However, South Korea closed the gap to 6-10 after the eighth series. But the Indian duo held its nerve to cruise to victory with a comfortable margin.
“I feel really proud and have a lot of gratitude,” Bhaker said after the historic feat. “Thank you so much for all the blessings and love. We can only control what is in our hands. I had a chat with my father regarding this before coming here and decided we should keep fighting till the last shot.”
Sarabjot said, “It feels great. The game was tough, but we were glad we could do it. There was a lot of pressure, but the crowd was great.”
They had finished third in qualifying on Monday with a combined score of 580.
This is Sarabjot’s first Olympic medal. Meanwhile, Manu is now the first Indian to win multiple medals at a single Olympic Games. She opened India’s account at the 2024 Paris Olympics with a bronze in the women’s 10m air pistol event.
Manu Bhaker’s family and hometown of Jhajjar celebrated the 22-year-old’s historic bronze medal win at the Paris Olympics 2024 in fine fashion on Tuesday. Manu and her shooting partner Sarabjot Singh were able to defeat South Korea in the bronze medal match in the 10 m air pistol mixed team event on Tuesday, to bring in India’s second medal of the ongoing games. Manu had earlier opened the account for India at the Paris Olympics by winning bronze in the women’s 10 m air pistol event.
