Manu Bhaker scripts Olympics history, more Indians make shooting finals at Paris 2024

Ramita Jindal, Arjun Babuta did well in the 10m air rifle qualifiers but Tokyo Olympian Elavenil Valarivan disappointed

Published on:

29 Jul 2024, 5:22 am

CHATEAUROUX:Manu Bhaker became the first Indian woman to win an Olympic shooting medal as two more – rifle shooters Ramita Jindal and Arjun Babuta – qualified for the finals on a Super Sunday. India did not win any shooting medals in Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.

On a bright and sunny day at the Chateauroux shooting centre, Bhaker finished with a bronze medal in the women’s 10m air pistol event where Korea finished with gold and silver. In a cliffhanger of a final, where the top four were often separated by decimals, Bhaker scored 221.7 for the third place.

Jin ye Oh demonstrated Korea’s domination in this event with an Olympic record score of 243.2. Yeiji Kim, who was trailing Bhaker at one stage in the elimination rounds, finished with the silver with a score of 241.3.

It became a three-way contest once the two Chinese, reigning world champion Jiang Ranxin and Li Xue were eliminated in fifth and fourth rounds, respectively. Only Vietnam’s Vinh Thu Trinh remained a threat for Bhaker, but only just.

“It feels surreal. I am really happy that I am the medium for this first medal and I really hope we would be winning many more medals at this Olympics as all of us have worked hard,” said an elated Bhaker, who proudly displayed the Indian tricolour amidst chants from Bharat Mata Ki Jai from the spectators’ stand.

After Norman Pritchard won two medals in athletics at the 1900 Paris Olympics, Manu Bhaker could become the first Indian to win multiple medals in a single Olympics. She will feature in two more events – the 25m sports pistol and the 10m air pistol mixed team with Sarajbot Singh. In recent times, Bhaker has won the Hangzhou Asian Games and the 2023 Baku world championship gold medals in the 25m sports pistol event.

“Oh wow! I really didn’t know this. I am surely going to give it all and do my best as I have done today. I have come a long way from Tokyo 2020 and let’s not look back now. Maybe, I made some mistakes but it’s time to look ahead and prepare for the events ahead,” said Bhaker to the O Heraldo.

With the 25m air pistol qualifiers scheduled on Monday, Bhaker understands the need to quickly emerge from all the euphoria around her. “We have to start focusing on the next events very quickly and I am keen to continue this momentum. I believe in karma, the celebrations can wait,” said Bhaker, who said she was a keen believer of the sacred Hindu scripture Bhagavad Gita and Krishna’s lesson to Arjun, the warrior prince in Mahabharata.

While India celebrated Manu Bhaker’s medal and the qualification of debutants Ramita Jindal and Arjun Babuta in the 10m air rifle division, it was a dramatic end to Tokyo Olympian Elavenil Valarivan’s campaign.

Valarivan, who was among the biggest hopes in Paris, was in great form when the qualification began on Sunday morning. She even led the 43-member group and stayed among the top 5 for most of the time but could not finish among the top eight. A 103.8 in the sixth and final round cost her a berth as she finished 10th with 630.7. Oceanne Muller of France grabbed the eighth berth with 631.3.

“It is disappointing for sure and I could have probably done better in the last three rounds. But I will not say it was a bad day at work. I have followed this process and I will continue to do so in future. There are certain things that cannot be explained but then the bottomline matters,” said Valarivan to Herald.

In the 10m air rifle range, 20-year-old Ramita Jindal was the toast of the morning before Bhaker was on show. It was a come-from-behind performance by the two-time world championship gold medallist. Ramita languished outside the top 10 for the first half of the qualifiers but then turned things around in the home stretch. She finished with 631.5, consistently scoring 105 in the last three rounds.

“I was just following the process and not watching the scoreboard. I am happy that I qualified. I reckon the scores are quite average and I am not feeling any pressure at all. I am sleeping well and I feel the Olympics are an extension of the Asian Games,” said Ramita, who won two medals in Hangzhou, a team silver and an individual bronze.