India men’s hockey team in action© X (Twitter)
Shooting duo of Manu Bhaker and Sarabjot Singh made the entire country proud on Tuesday as they clinched the bronze medal in the 10m air pistol mixed team event at the Paris Olympics 2024. With this Bhaker became the only athlete from independent India to bag two medals in a single edition of the Olympics, as she earlier won a bronze medal in the 10m air pistol women’s final. However, there’s another record that has been created by the duo with this bronze medal.
In 1928, India’s hockey team started its Olympic journey and hasn’t looked back since then. So far, they have won 12 medals at the Olympics, including eight gold medals. The hockey team waited for 96 years to see another Indian team getting a medal at the Olympics and their wait came to an end on Tuesday when Bhaker and Sarabjot bagged the bronze.
Earlier in 1952, wrestler KD Jadhav became India’s first individual medalist (bronze) and gave company to the hockey team. But, Bhaker and Sarabjot became the first team to bag a medal at the Olympics.
Talking about Bhaker and Sarabjot, the Indian pair defeated the Korean duo of Lee Wonoho and Oh Yeh Jin 16-10 to earn the country its second medal at Chateauroux’s shooting range.
The 22-year-old Bhaker had earlier snared the women’s 10m air pistol bronze medal at the same venue on Sunday, wiping off the memories of a horrendous Olympic debut in Tokyo 2020 where her pistol malfunctioned leaving her in tears.
Before her, British-Indian athlete Norman Pritchard had won two silver medals in 200m sprint and 200m hurdles at the 1900 Olympics but that achievement had come in the pre-Independence era.
While it is a massive achievement for women’s sport in the country, Tuesday’s medal is also redemption for Sarabjot, who had failed to make the men’s 10m air pistol final, finishing ninth on Saturday with a score of 577.
(With PTI Inputs)
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