New Delhi: Abhinav Bindra, India’s lone Olympics gold medalist in shooting, lauded Manu Bhaker for an amazing Paris Olympics campaign, saying she has already established a remarkable legacy in the sport and this is just the beginning of it. Manu, the standout performer for India at the Paris Olympics currently with two bronze medals, finished her campaign with a fourth-place finish and agonisingly missed out on a medal in the women’s 25m pistol event on Saturday.
But she ended her time in Paris with two bronze medals -– in women’s 10m Air Pistol, which broke India’s 12-year drought for an Olympic medal, and in the 10m Air Pistol mixed event, making her the first athlete to win multiple medals at an Olympic Games edition for independent India.
“Manu, you have made the entire nation stand up and applaud your incredible achievement. Winning a third Olympic medal would have been an extraordinary feat, but what you’ve accomplished in Paris is truly monumental.”
“Your journey stands as a testament to relentless hard work and dedication. At just 22, you’ve already established a remarkable legacy, and this is only the beginning. Congratulations on a historic campaign. @realmanubhaker,” wrote Bindra on ‘X’.
Manu had advanced to the Women’s 25m Pistol final — her third final in the ongoing Paris Olympics, after finishing second in the qualification event on Friday. She was initially tied for third place with Veronika Major of Hungary before losing the shoot-off series to exit the final in fourth place.
Three years ago in the Tokyo Olympics, Manu, then 19, had failed to clinch a medal in all three of her events. Now in Paris, her redemption arc is well and truly complete by reaching finals in all three events and getting two bronze medals for India.
–IANS