Union Ministers, CMs, Opposition Leaders Congratulate Manu Bhaker On Olympic Bronze Medal Win

Defence minister Rajnath Singh, home minister Amit Shah, sports minister Mansukh Mandaviya, external affairs minister S Jaishankar and commerce minister Piyush Goyal congratulated shooter Manu Bhaker for winning India’s first medal at the Paris Olympics.

Bhaker won bronze in the 10 m air pistol event to open India’s medal account at the Paris Games.

“Kudos to @realmanubhaker on winning the first medal in the Paris Olympics, 2024, by bringing home the bronze. You have sent a wave of euphoria across the nation with your stellar performance. The nation swells in pride at your achievement,” Shah wrote on ‘X’ with the hashtag ‘Cheer4Bharat’.

Chief minister of Haryana Nayab Singh Saini, UP CM Yogi Adityanath, Kerala’s Pinarayi Vijayan, West Bengal’s Mamata Banerjee and Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis also extended their hearty congratulations to the professional shooter.

Earlier, PM Modi, President Droupadi Murmu and Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar congratulated the Olympian on her medal win.

Opposition leaders Rahul Gandhi and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge also congratulated Manu Bhaker on her feat.

The last time India won shooting medals at the Olympics was in 2012 London edition where rapid-fire pistol shooter Vijay Kumar and 10m air rifle marksman Gagan Narang clinched silver and bronze respectively. Narang is the chef de mission of the Paris contingent right now.

The 22-year-old Bhaker, who hails from Jhajjar in Haryana, fought hard to get the bronze with a score of 221.7 in Chateauroux.

Korea’s Kim Yeji claimed the silver with a total of 241.3 while her compatriot Jin Ye Oh bagged the gold with a Games record of 243.2

The pistol ace’s father Ramkishan said she reaped the rewards for her hard work.

“We are extremely happy and all of our friends are congratulating us. Her hard work has paid off, and Manu has finally done it,” he told PTI Videos.

“I thank you all for supporting her, and I hope you all will continue to bless her,” her mother Sumedha said.

Bhaker’s uncles were also among those present at her residence in Jhajjar to join the celebrations.

“I am very happy. I motivated her very much… I told her to respect elders and believe in herself. This is a very big achievement in Olympics,” said Pratap Singh, her uncle.

“She has my blessings,” her grandmother Daya Kaur said.

Bhaker’s uncle Baljeet Singh expressed, “We hoped for a gold medal but we are still happy. She is the youngest Indian woman to win a medal. She is very hard working. We hope in the remaining events, she will clinch gold medals.”

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