Manu Bhaker on Sunday created a huge mark by becoming the first Indian woman shooter to clinch an Olympic medal, a bronze, in the 10m air pistol for women.

The 22-year-old from Haryana, who had won the Commonwealth Games gold in 2018 at the age of 16, shot her way to third place with a total of 221.7 in the 10-metre air pistol event at the Chateauroux Shooting Centre.

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She followed the footsteps of Abhinav Bindra (gold in Beijing in 2008), Rajyawardhan Singh Rathore and Vijay Kumar (silver medals in the 2004 Athens and 2012 London Games) and Gagan Narang (bronze in the 2020 Tokyo Games held in 2021) to ascend the medals podium.

Manu finished third behind the Korean duo of Oh Ye Jin (243.2, an Olympic record) and Kim Yeji (241.3) who bagged the gold and silver medals respectively.

“I am feeling on top of the world standing here with this medal around my neck,” exclaimed the Indian markswoman who went into the competition after grabbing gold medals in the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games and the 2023 Baku World Championships.

Explaining more about the way she performed, Manu said, “The competition was neck-and-neck. I feel grateful that I could win this medal for all of us and for India. Now, I am focusing on my next event (to be held over 25m).”

Asked how she kept her concentration intact as she went into today’s competition after her qualification round yesterday, Manu said she took tips from Bhagwat Gita. “I read (Bhagwad) Gita. Among the most famous of Gita’s teachings is the advice given to focus on the job at hand and not on the fruits that will accrue later. The same thought was running in my mind. I was determined to do my best from the first shot to the last.”

She said Indians get under some pressure and are short on confidence at this level of competition. “We have lots of talent, but we are a little bit short on confidence on whether we will be able to perform on this stage. We let the pressure get the better of us. (That’s why) I am so grateful that I could get the medal.”

She credited her coach Jaspal Rana for his contribution to the medal win but also chose not to forget the roles of the NGO Olympic Gold Quest and the coaches of the national team. “I had figured out where was sitting in the crowd. I was automatically looking only at him and no one else. Looking at him gives me courage. I am grateful that he was part of all those things we have put together (for success). I definitely owe a lot to him. He has played a huge role in this medal win. And many more people – the OGQ team, the coaches of the national team the federation (officials), SAI (officials),” she said.

Manu and Rana had parted ways before the Tokyo Olympics but came together to train for this Olympics one year ago.

“It’s better to leave the past behind. If you cannot win you can certainly learn lessons from those failures. I am grateful for that past Olympic experience,” she said.