It is no coincidence that in three consecutive Olympics till now, the first medal for India has come from its women. In Rio, it was Sakshi Malik, while in Tokyo, it was Mirabai Chanu, and now in Paris, it has been Manu Bhaker. This is a testimony to the rising power of women in today’s India.

Born on 18th February 2002 at Jhajjar in Haryana, pistol-firing was not on young Manu’s list of sports. Haryana is better known for churning out boxers and wrestlers, and so without a doubt, boxing was one of the sports on Manu’s list along with tennis and skating. In fact, seeing the Manu Bhaker of today with her infectious sweet smile, one would scarcely believe that at one time she won a medal at the national level in a particular form of martial art. However, once she tried her hand at shooting at the age of 14 years, and much to India’s good fortune, shooting became teenager Manu’s first love and it has continued till date.

Shooting is among the oldest events that were included in the Olympics as it was introduced at the very first modern Summer Olympics at Athens in 1896. Since then, shooting events have been contested in three categories – the pistol, rifle and shotgun. The U.S. has the history of being the most successful country in shooting so far, with more than 100 Olympic medals, while India, before the Paris 2024 version, had just four. Major Rajvardhan Rathore opened the account with a silver in the Men’s Double Trap at Athens in 2004. In 2008, at Bejing, Abhinav Bindra excelled in the 10 metre rifle event with a gold and then four years later, at London, Gagan Narang won a bronze in the 10 metre rifle event, while Vijay Kumar achieved the same in the 25 metre rapid air pistol event.

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