Ace shooter Manu Bhaker made history on Sunday as she became the first Indian woman to clinch a medal at the Olympics after bagging the bronze in the women's 10m air pistol event in Paris.
Bhaker finished third behind Korea's Kim Yeji and her compatriot Jin Ye Oh, who won the gold medal with a Games record of 243.2.
Bhaker revealed after the event that reading the Bhagwad Gita helped her stay calm in her final few shots.
"I read a lot of Gita, focus on your process not the result, that was going through my mind in final moment," Bhaker said on Jio Cinema.
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She also opened up on the heartbreak she suffered four years ago in Tokyo when her gun jammed and she had to drop out of the shooting event in tears.
"After Tokyo, I was very disappointed. It took me a long time to get over that. So really grateful that I could win bronze, maybe (it will be) better next time.
"I feel great. This medal was long due for India. It feels surreal," Bhaker said.
Manu Bhaker in elite company
Bhaker's effort ended India's 12-year wait for an Olympic medal in shooting. She now joins an elite list of Indian shooters who've won an Olympic medal.
Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore (2004 Athens Olympics Silver), Abhinav Bindra (2008 Beijing Olympics Gold), Vijay Kumar (2012 London Olympics Silver) and Gagan Narang (2012 London Olympics Bronze) are the only other Indian shooters to have stood on the podium at the Olympics.
Bhaker's journey to Paris 2024
The 22-year-old had snagged third place in the qualifiers earlier today, making her the first Indian woman in 20 years to reach an Olympic shooting final in an individual event since Suma Shirur's awesome achievement back in 2004.
On top of that, Manu just made history by becoming the first Indian woman to ever qualify for the 10m air pistol women’s final at the Olympics.
Her last Olympic run in Tokyo 2020 was a tough one, ending in tears after a pistol malfunction during the qualifiers.
