Masterclass indeed! New pride of India

It was Manu Bhaker’s second bronze medal that helped raise the mood of the nation after getting battered by the nightmarish happenings in Waynad on Tuesday. Manu became the first Indian to haul two medals in an Olympics after working in tandem with Sarabjot to create history at the Chateauroux Shooting Range in Paris.

The 22-year-old prodigy from Haryana has already made her name in the annals of Indian Olympic history. She is not yet in the mood to celebrate and awaits another match on Friday. Manu will be competing in the 25 m pistol shooting competition and eyes nothing less than gold.

In the 1900 Paris Olympics, Norman Pritchard made history by winning two Olympic medals for India. Badminton star PV Sindhu won silver in the 2016 Rio Olympics and later bagged bronze in the Tokyo Olympics of 2020. Wrestler Sushil Kumar also takes pride in holding two Olympic medals to his name. He won bronze in Beijing in 2008 and silver in 2012 London Olympics.

In 2004, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore clinched India’s first medal for shooting in the Athens Olympics. In 2008, Abhinav Bindra rewrote history by winning gold in Beijing.

At the age of 16, Manu saw a gold medal adorned over her neck in the Commonwealth Games while the media sang paeans for the upcoming prodigy. With the baggage of expectations from billion Indians, Manu Bhaker set her quest for gold at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020. Things went awry and a pistol malfunction also added to the worries forcing Manu to exit the Olympics empty-handed. The response on social media was acidic and Manu went into the asylum of depression for quite some time. It took her long to repair and restore her durability while she also took time to mend ties with her coach Jaspreet Rana, who played a pivotal role in Manu’s rejuvenation.

More than anything else, her serene countenance and maturity after winning the historic feat is something for posterity to emulate. India is expecting 10 medals from Paris and Manu has only started the hunt.