India’s Manu Bhaker (left) and Sarabjot Singh celebrate after winning the bronze medal in the 10m air pistol mixed team event. AFP

Indian shooters Manu Bhaker and Sarabjot Singh secured a bronze medal in the 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team event at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The duo showcased resilience and composure, overcoming a slow start to defeat South Korea 16-10 in a thrilling match on Tuesday.

The contest began with the Indian pair on the back foot, losing the first series. However, Bhaker and Singh quickly regained their footing, displaying exceptional skill and teamwork. They took control by the third series, leading 4-2, and extended their advantage to 8-2 after five series. South Korea mounted a comeback attempt, narrowing the gap to 6-10 by the eighth series, but Bhaker and Singh remained unflinching. The Indian shooters sealed the victory with a decisive 16-10 margin, securing India’s second medal of the Games.

Serbia’s Zorana Arunovic and Damir Mikec claimed the gold while silver was won by Ilayda Tarhan and Yusef Dikec of Turkey.

After the match, an elated Bhaker expressed her gratitude, saying, “I feel really proud and have a lot of gratitude. Thank you so much for all the blessings and love. We can only control what is in our hands. I had a chat with my father regarding this before coming here and decided we should keep fighting till the last shot,” said to the broadcasters.

Manu became the second Indian woman to win two Olympic medals after shuttler PV Sandhu, who clinched consecutive medals in the 2016 (silver) and 2020 (bronze) Olympics.

Manu still has the 25m pistol event left to compete in, where she will compete alongside Esha Singh, giving her a chance to win a hat-trick of medals in Paris. With several records broken, this accomplishment represents a critical turning point in Indian sports history.

Sarabjot Singh, celebrating his first Olympic medal, echoed her sentiments. “It feels great. The game was tough, but we were glad we could do it. There was a lot of pressure, but the crowd was great,” he said, acknowledging the support that spurred them on. The pair had entered the bronze medal match after finishing third in the qualifying round with a combined score of 580.

This bronze is a historic personal achievement for Bhaker, who became the first Indian to win multiple medals at a single Olympic Games. She had previously opened India’s medal account in Paris with a bronze in the women’s 10m air pistol event.

Meanwhile, after Singh’s historic bronze medal win, the shooter’s coach Abhishek Rana has revealed that was confident because his ward has always returned with a medal from every event he participated in.

“I have been with Sarabjot since day one. It is a matter of great happiness for me that we won the bronze medal today. We have participated in numerous national and international tournaments, and Sarabjot has never returned empty-handed from any event,” Rana said.

Last year, Sarabjot won gold in the 10m Air Pistol Men’s team event and silver in the Mixed Team in the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China. He also won multiple medals on the international stage across junior and senior levels.

He has won a bronze medal in the 10m Air Pistol Individual event along with Olympics 2024 quota place for the country at the 2023 Asian Championship in Korea, a gold medal in the Individual event at the 2023 World Cup in Bhopal and gold in the Mixed Team event at the 2023 World Cup in Baku.

Sarabjot also won one gold in the Team event and two silver medals in the Individual and Mixed Yeam competition at the 2022 Junior World Cup in Suhl, Germany, before winning two gold medals in the Team & Mixed Team events at the 2021 Junior World Championship in Lima, Peru.

“We began training in 2016, and in 2017, Sarabjot won his first medal, a bronze, at the nationals. After that, he won 5-6 medals consecutively at the nationals. In 2019, he became the Junior World Champion and continued to win medals consistently. Till today the journey has been fascinating,” said Rana.

The 22-year-old, Sarabjot, who was playing his maiden Olympics, is now the sixth Indian shooter to win a medal at the Summer Games.

Indo-Asian News Service