Manu Bhaker creates history, partners Sarabjot to Mixed Team 10m Air Pistol bronze

Becomes only Indian to win two medals in one Olympic Game

Khel Today Bureau

Paris:  Manu Bhaker extended her great run of form by creating history twice in three days, winning bronze in the Mixed Team 10m Air Pistol event at the Paris 2024 Olympics, in partnership with Sarabjot Singh. The Indian pair of 22-year-olds defeated the Korean pair of Oh Ye Jin and Lee Wonho 16-10 in the bronze medal face-off at the French National Shooting Centre in Chateauroux, making Manu the only athlete in independent India to win two medals at a single Olympic Games. She had won bronze in the individual air pistol earlier on Sunday. This was also young Sarabjot Singh’s first ever medal in his debut Olympics.

The match did not start the way the Indians had planned probably with Sarabjot scoring an 8.6 with his first shot, as the Koreans took the first two points in the race to 16. But he came back admirably with a 10.5 as the Indians tied at 2-2 and with Manu having found her range from get go, raced to an early 8-2 lead.

As the match progressed, it was clear that the Koreans were relying heavily on the teenager Oh, who was in hot form after winning the individual air pistol gold two days back. She did also shoot exceedingly well, but the Indians were relentless and were backing each other up brilliantly.

Once when Manu hit had a relatively lean run with an 8.3 and 10.0 for her eighth and ninth shots, Sarabjot’s 10.2 and 10.5 restored confidence. Then crucially, on the third match point as the Korean’s were threatening to claw their way back, having reduced the deficit from 14-6 to 14-10 thanks to Oh’s heroics, Sarabjot fired a clutch 10.2 when all the others only managed 9 or above, to seal the deal for India.

It was a true team effort as in the end analysis, the time-out called by coach Munkhbayar Dorjsuren after the eighth shot, also turned out to be timely.

The gold in the event was bagged by the experienced Serbian pair of Damir Mikec and Zorana Arunovic who beat Turkiye’s Yusuf Dikec and Sevval Tarhan 16-14 in a humdinger.

Among other Indians in fray at Chateauroux, Prithviraj Tondaiman in the Men’s Trap shot 118, after two perfect rounds of 25 each on day two of the qualification to finish 21st in the field of 30. Shreyasi Singh and Rajeshwari Kumari shot scores of 68 out of 75 on day one of the Women’s Trap to be below the top-six qualifying mark at the moment.