Manu Bhaker a step away from historic third medal in Paris Olympics 2024

Manu Bhaker a step away from historic third medal in Paris 2024 (X/CricCrazyJohns)

In 25 metre pistol, there are two segments — precision and rapid. Manu Bhaker was an epitome of consistency in both, as she stormed into the final by finishing second in the qualifying rounds. The girl from Haryana has thus reached the medal round in all three categories she has participated in at the Paris Olympics. A third medal is very much on the cards after the two bronzes she has already secured.

Scores of 294 in precision and 296 in rapid gave Manu a total of 590-24x, which was two short of Hungary’s Veronika Major, who took the first spot in qualifying. India’s Esha Singh had also made a promising start, but faltered later, to finish 18th with a total score of 581. Only the top eight made it to the final.

This is turning out to be a dream competition for Manu, whose campaign in Tokyo had ended in tears three years ago. Learning her lessons and determined to do better, she has turned a new leaf in life and the results are showing. After podium finishes in the 10m air-pistol individual and mixed team events, she is one step away from history. No Indian has ever claimed three individual Olympic medals. At the moment, Manu has two, on par with wrestler Sushil Kumar and badminton star PV Sindhu. She stands an excellent chance to surpass the two in Paris 2024.

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The shooter has been saying that she is missing homecooked food, having to make do with the boiled and steamed fare on offer at the venue and village. She is making do with the dry fruits and curd she is carrying. That has not diminished her appetite for success though. She is shooting like a woman possessed and creating ripples on the range. Three finals is tremendous even by world standards. It’s certainly unprecedented as far as Indian shooters are concerned.

That she has done this at the age of 22 makes her a unique character. Manu was hailed as a prodigy when she was in her teens. But, success on the biggest stage doesn’t come easy and she found it out the hard way in 2021. It was heartbreak and a reality check at the same time. But instead of going into a shell, she started working with renewed energy under coach Jaspal Rana and the results have been telling. She channelised that frustration into motivation and came back with a bang.

Time will tell whether Manu will make it a hat-trick of medals, but what she has done has been nothing short of phenomenal. Irrespective of the outcome in 25m pistol finals, her name will be etched in golden letters in the annals of India’s Olympic history.

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