Manu Bhaker etched her name into the history books as she became the first Indian to bag more than one medal at a single edition of the Olympic Games since Independence. Manu clinched a bronze alongside Sarabjot Singh in the 10m air pistol mixed team event as the Indian duo defeated Korean shooters in the bronze medal match. Manu had won a bronze in the individual event earlier.
The Indian contingent has won two medals at the Games and both of them have come either from Manu or from contribution from her. The 22-year-old shooter opened up on her historic achievement after the bronze medal match.
“I feel really proud and have a lot of gratitude that I was able to achieve this. Thank you so much for all your blessings.”
“We can’t control everything; we can just try to do our best. Before coming here, my partner and I said, ‘Let’s try our best, and however it goes, we will accept it and keep fighting till the last shot,’” Bhaker told JioCinema.
The Haryana-based shooter also spoke on her Tokyo disappointment. “After Tokyo, I was very disappointed and how the team events turned out to be for me were not very good. It took me a long time to overcome that, however, I came back stronger,” she added.
Sarabjot Singh won his maiden medal on his Olympic debut. He had earlier missed a medal match by a whisker when he finished 9th in the 10m air pistol individual event. “I am feeling very good. The game was very tough, and there was a lot of pressure, but the support from the Indian crowd was immense. I can’t express how good I am feeling,” Sarabjot told broadcasters.
Manu had earlier won a bronze in the women’s 10m air pistol women’s final. Manu was in contention of taking a Silver home in that final but missed out on it and settled with a bronze.