‘Sensational’ Manu Bhaker admits Bhagavad Gita helped her end India’s 12-year medal drought in Olympic shooting

Bhaker is the first Indian woman to win an Olympic medal in shooting.

‘Sensational’ Manu Bhaker admits Bhagavad Gita helped her end India’s 12-year medal drought in Olympic shooting

Manu Bhaker (Image courtesy: X)

India’s Manu Bhaker scripted history at the 2024 Paris Olympics, becoming the first Indian woman to win an Olympic medal in shooting. She bagged the bronze in the 10m women’s air pistol event, which also opened India’s account in the ongoing edition of the Summer Games.

Incidentally, it was also India’s first medal in shooting in 12 years, when Gagan Narang and Vijay Kumar won the silver and bronze medals, respectively, at the 2012 London Games.

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Bhaker had a heartbreak at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics when her pistol malfunctioned. Despite the jury being made aware of the entire fiasco, they only allowed her to replace the part that was out of hinges instead of the entire gun. In the process, Bhaker lost six crucial minutes, which led to her returning home empty-handed. Three years later, she has redeemed herself by securing her spot on the podium.

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A sneak peek into how Manu Bhaker pulled off the iconic feat

Manu Bhaker became the third Indian woman to enter the final rounds of an individual shooting event in the Paris Olympics. She garnered 580 points in the qualification round while shooting 221.7 to clinch the bronze medal in Chateauroux on Sunday (July 28).

Manu Bhaker
Manu Bhaker, image courtesy: X

Bhaker’s breathtaking fight with South Korea’s Kim Yeji saw the two pushing each other to the very end. Eventually the latter hammered home a 10.5 in response to Manu Bhaker’s 10.3 to finish second. South Korea’s Oh Ye Jin clinched gold with an Olympic-record 243.2 points.

Speaking after the event, Bhaker quoted the Bhagavad Gita and said that it helped her stay strong till the end.

I read a lot of Gita. What was going through my mind was, just do what you are meant to do. You can't control the outcome of your destiny. In Gita, Lord Krishna says to Arjun, “Focus on karma, not on the outcome of the karma.” That was running in my head. I thought, ‘do your thing and let it all be.'
Manu Bhaker told Jio Cinema

Earlier in the day, she finished third in the qualification round and became the first Indian woman in 20 years (since Suma Shirur in 2004) to reach an Olympic shooting final in an individual event.

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