Manu Bhaker’s Heroic Return to Delhi After Winning Two Olympic Medals
New Delhi [India], August 7: Double Olympic medallist in shooting, Manu Bhaker, received a warm welcome at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi on Wednesday. Bhaker, who won two bronze medals at the Paris Olympics, expressed her happiness at being back in India and enjoying Indian food.
Bhaker will return to Paris on August 10 as the flag bearer for the Indian contingent during the closing ceremony of the games. Her coach, Jaspal Rana, also accompanied her. Bhaker showed her medals to the fans who welcomed her.
“I am so happy to get so much love here…” Bhaker said. She added that she was happy to be back and eating Indian food, something she missed at the Paris Olympics. “It feels great the way I was welcomed at the airport and the hotel. I am very happy that the people of the country are supporting me like this. I have brought home 2 medals and a lot of inspiration and motivation to work harder in the future. At the time of the event, I was only thinking about my game and not about the medal. I could not eat Indian food for a long time but after coming here to Delhi, I had aloo paratha,” she said.
Bhaker brought her A-game to Paris and won two bronze medals in the Summer Games. The Paris Olympics has been a redemption for the 22-year-old shooter. During the 10m air pistol qualification round in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, her gun malfunctioned, leading to a loss of time. She missed the top-eight finish required to qualify for the final round and finished in the 12th spot.
Bhaker opened India’s medal tally in the ongoing Olympics after she secured third place in the women’s individual 10m Air pistol event, becoming the first-ever woman shooter to win an Olympic medal for India. Following that, Sarabjot Singh and Bhaker won the bronze medal in the 10m air pistol (mixed team) event, which was India’s first-ever shooting team medal. She narrowly missed out on a third medal in the women’s 25m pistol shooting event, finishing fourth.
Bhaker is the first athlete from the Indian contingent after independence to win two medals in a single edition of the Olympics. Earlier in the 1900 Olympics, Norman Pritchard won two medals while representing India. Bhaker also joined an elite group of athletes with multiple individual Olympic medals, including PV Sindhu and Sushil Kumar.
Doubts Revealed
Manu Bhaker -: Manu Bhaker is a young Indian athlete who competes in shooting sports. She is famous for winning medals in big competitions like the Olympics.
Olympic Medals -: Olympic medals are awards given to athletes who perform very well in the Olympic Games. There are three types: gold, silver, and bronze.
Indira Gandhi International Airport -: Indira Gandhi International Airport is a big airport in Delhi, the capital city of India. It’s named after Indira Gandhi, a former Prime Minister of India.
Paris Olympics -: The Paris Olympics is a big sports event that happens every four years where athletes from all over the world compete. The next one will be held in Paris, France.
Flag Bearer -: A flag bearer is a person who carries their country’s flag during the opening or closing ceremony of the Olympics. It’s a big honor.
Indian Contingent -: The Indian contingent is the group of athletes and officials who represent India at the Olympics.
Jaspal Rana -: Jaspal Rana is a famous Indian shooting coach and former shooter. He helps athletes like Manu Bhaker train and perform well.
Independence -: Independence here refers to India becoming a free country on August 15, 1947, after being ruled by the British for many years.
