With a beaming smile, she held the bronze medal in her hand in front of the shutterbugs as Manu Bhaker welcomed the loud cheer from a section of the Indian fans who cheered from the stands at the shooting arena. The 22-year-old had scripted history on Sunday at the 2024 Paris Olympics, as she won a bronze in the women's 10m Air Pistol final to kick off India's medal account at the Games. And in a moment worth savouring for a lifetime, the pain incurred in the last few years vanished into oblivion, but only for a while.

With the medal haul, Bhaker not only ended India's 12-year wait for a shooting medal at the Olympics, but also became the first-ever markswoman from the country to bag a podium finish at the Games. But a little more than her stellar performance in the final, Bhaker has her coach Jaspal Rana to thank.

The last three years haven't been kind for young Bhaker. After incurring a heartbreaking exit in the qualifiers of the same event at the Tokyo Games in 2021, owing to a pistol malfunction, the shooter almost gave up on the sport and rather decided to focus on her education, until Rana talked her out of it.

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“I think the turning point for me was in 2023 when my coach asked me what I wanted to do in my life and I told him ‘I don’t know, I’ll probably leave shooting in a year or two and maybe go abroad for further studies’ or maybe attempt for the Services’. But he told me, ‘I think you are one of the best shooters not just in the country but the world so it’s you who have to decide what you want to do in life’, That motivated me,” Manu told reporters after her historic feat.

She further said, “I then asked him (coach Jaspal Rana) what would he do in my place, and he said ‘I would give everything that I have for this spot, never look back at what went by and try to fulfill my dream, be it an Olympic medal or anything’.

Bhaker will return to action on Monday in the 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team Qualification, where she will team up with Sarabjot Singh, who fell agonisingly short of making the individual final on Saturday. The other Indian pair in the event will be Rhythm Sangwan and Arjun Singh Cheema.

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