Paris Olympics: Manu Bhaker bags historic bronze in women's 10m Air Pistol, opens India's medal tally 

 Manu Bhaker opened India's medal tally at the Paris Olympics as she secured a historic bronze medal in the women’s 10m pistol event with the score of 221.7 in the final, becoming the first Indian women shooter to win a medal at the Olympics.  

Manu's bronze medal brings India its first shooting medal in 12 years since Gagan Narang and Vijay Kumar’s successes at the 2012 London Olympics.

South Korea's Oh Ye Jin wins the gold with an Olympic record score of 243.2 points. Another Korean Ki Yejin takes the silver with 241.3 points.

With this medal, the 22-year-old Manu become the fifth Indian shooter to win a medal in the Olympic Games, joining the list of RVS Rathore (2004), Abhinav Bindra (2008), Gagan Narang (2012) and Vijay Kumar (2012), taking India's tally in shooting at the Olympic Games to five medals -- one gold, two silver and two bronze.

Earlier in the day, Manu finished third in the qualification round, becoming the first Indian woman in 20 years to reach an Olympic shooting final in an individual event since Suma Shirur's remarkable performance in 2004.

Notably, she also became the first Indian woman to qualify for the 10m air pistol women’s final at the Olympics.

Manu’s last Olympic appearance in Tokyo 2020 ended in heartbreak when a pistol malfunction during qualifications left her in tears.

She secured India's quota for the Paris Olympics by finishing fifth in the women’s 25m pistol event at the 2023 Asian Shooting Championships.

Bollywood celebs congratulated the country’s shooter for making the country proud.

 Preity Zinta shared Manu Bhaker’s photo and wrote, “Congratulations @bhakermanu on winning the first medal for India in #olympics2024 #bronzemedal #shooting #parisolympics #JaiHind #ting.”

Kriti Kharbanda also shared the news snippet of Manu Bhaker winning bronze and expressed her happiness with the caption “Oh yeahhhh.”

Rajkumar Rao shared an Insta story and wrote, “Congratulations @bhakermanu. We all are so proud of you.”

Jackie Shroff commented on the success and wrote “Account opened…Manu Bhaker wins Bronze in 10 mt air pistol event. India’s first medal in Paris Olympics.” 

The last time India won medals in shooting was at the London Olympics in 2012. Rapid-fire pistol shooter Vijay Kumar won silver and Gangan Narang won bronze. 

In the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, Manu Bhaker was disqualified due to a pistol malfunction but her hard work and determination paid off with her winning a bronze in Paris. 

Manu Bhaker became India’s first women's shooter to win an Olympic medal.

Paris Olympics: Manu's feat is going to inspire many sportspersons, says President Murmu

 President Droupadi Murmu on Sunday congratulated shooter Manu Bhaker on winning a historic bronze medal in the 33rd Olympic Games in Paris and said her feat will inspire many sportspersons, especially women.  

Manu finished third in the Women's 10m Air Pistol final with a total of 221.7 and opened India's account in the medals tally in Paris on Sunday. She also became the first Indian woman shooter to win a medal in the Olympics.

"Heartiest congratulations to Manu Bhaker for opening India’s medal tally with her bronze medal in the 10m Air Pistol shooting event at the Paris Olympics. She is the first Indian woman to win an Olympic medal in a shooting competition. India is proud of Manu Bhaker. Her feat is going to inspire many sportspersons, especially women. I wish she scales greater heights of accomplishment in the future," the official account of the President of India wrote on X.