A sense of fear prevailed inside Manu Bhaker’s household, especially her mother Sumedha Bhaker, who continued with her prayers fearing a repeat of that dreaded Tuesday of July, 2021 when a Pistol malfunction crashed the then 19-year-old shooter’s dreams on her Games debut.

However, Manu, now 22, on Tuesday dispelled all such fears as she scripted history by becoming the first ever athlete in independent India to win two medals in one edition of the Olympics. A couple of days after Manu opened India’s medal count at the Paris Olympics with a bronze in women’s 10m Air Pistol event, she combined with Sarabjot Singh on Tuesday to add another medal after the pair beat the Korean pair Oh Ye Jin and Wonho Lee 16-10 in the bronze medal match.

Advertisement

The 22-year-old Manu has redeemed herself from the sourness of 2021 with two medals from the ongoing edition in Paris, as she turns her focus on her third event — the women’s 25m Pistol event.

Back in Jhajjar, Haryana, there seemed no end to the celebrations as locals gathered in huge numbers to join the Bhaker family, who were flooded by calls from near and dear ones. Her parents Ram Kishan Bhaker and Sumedha along with Manu’s grandmother and brother are already preparing for a grand welcome for their daughter.

Even as the celebrations continued in the entire neighbourhood from the morning anticipating Manu’s second Olympic medal, Sumedha continued with her prayers when Manu and Sarabjot entered the National Shooting Centre in Chateauroux to take on the Koreans.

“Coincidentally, it was also a Tuesday (in 2021) when Manu’s Pistol malfunctioned in Tokyo. That was the first thought that flashed my mind when I found out that Manu and Sarabjot will be shooting in the bronze medal match on another Tuesday. Deep inside, I was initially a bit worried, and prayed to Lord Hanuman to save the day for Manu and her partner. I’m so thankful to God for listening to our prayers,” a proud Sumeda told The Statesman.

“I can say there’s someone up there who listens to us if we devote yourself to Him, and today the medals are an answer to our prayers.”

“This is a proud moment for the entire nation. The support she (Manu) has received even after the Tokyo heartbreak has been incredible, and we (as parents) want to thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government for the support they have shown towards sports,” she added.

Sumedha also revealed what it took for them to console Manu after she returned from Tokyo, and the hard work she has put in over the past three years to finally realise her dreams of standing on the Olympic podium.

“Manu was naturally disheartened after returning from Tokyo, and in that disappointment she said that she had no belief in God anymore. We realised that it was not her but it was the feeling of getting betrayed by the Pistol that made her vent out, but we made her understand that somewhere we might have lacked in preparations and it wasn’t the end of the world,” she revealed.

“Today after winning two medals, we want to express our deepest gratitude to the Almighty God who has answered to our belief,” she added.

On Tuesday, Manu started strongly, shooting a 10.2 in her opening shot but Sarabjot’s 8.6 cost India the first two points. He, however, recovered quickly with scores of 10.5, 10.4 and 10 to help India take the next six points.

Manu struck at least a 10 on her first seven shots. However, Oh Ye Jin kept the South Koreans in the hunt with her consistency as they recovered from an 8-2 deficit to stretch the match to 14-10. Oh Ye Jin, the Olympic champion, struck a 9 on her final shot while her partner managed a 9.5. Manu hit a 9.4 but a 10.2 from Sarabjot Singh confirmed the medal for India.

Earlier, on Monday, Manu and Sarabjot finished third in the qualifying round to make the bronze medal match, behind Turkiye’s Sevval Ilayda Tarhan-Yusuf Dikec and Serbia’s Zorana Arunovic-Damir Mikec. Serbia won the gold medal with a 16-14 win over Turkiye.

These two medals helped India end the medal drought in shooting after the shooters drew a blank in Rio (2016) and Tokyo (2020).