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Just when it seemed like India was in for another dreadful outing at the Olympics, Manu Bhaker stepped up and brightened the day. read more
 "Manu Bhaker delivers a healing touch on Day 1 of Paris Olympics, but a bigger goal awaits")
Manu Bhaker is the first Indian woman shooter to qualify for the 10m air pistol final at the Olympics. AP
It was redemption of sorts for star shooter Manu Bhaker on Day 1 of the Paris Olympics 2024, but before the Jhajjar-born shooter left her mark on the opening day, a heaving feeling of deja vu hung in the air.
No Olympic medal in 12 years, only one finalist from 15 shooters at Tokyo Summer Games, India’s shooting journey over the last two Games has been a nightmare, to put it bluntly. Shooting is the sport that gave India their first individual gold medallist in the Olympics — Abhinav Bindra at Beijing 2008.
Paris Olympics 2024 Day 1 LIVE updates
That gold at the Beijing Shooting Range Hall in many ways marked the renaissance of Olympic sport in India.
India won a total of three medals at Beijing; for the first time since Helsinki 1952 and only the second time in their history, the country won more than one medal.
Shooting led from the front as India went on to win a record six medals at London 2012 with two coming in shooting (Vijay Kumar and Gagan Narang). Then came the downfall.
Paris Olympics: News, schedule, medals tally and more
12 shooters drew a blank at Rio 16.
15 shooters drew a blank at Tokyo 2020.
Only one shooter reached the final three years ago, as marksmen and markswomen succumbed to the pressure at the COVID-19-delayed Games.
What followed was rebuke, rebuttal, and redressing.
That trepidation was back on Saturday once the 10m air rifle mixed teams faltered at the first time of asking.
India’s rifle shooters had been picked after four rounds of rigorous trials which saw quota winners like Mehuli Ghosh, Tilottama Sen, Rudrankksh Balasaheb Patil make way for Ramita Jindal, Elavenil Valarivan, and Sandeep Singh.
Road to Paris, Shooting: Who is going, how the team was picked and top medal contenders
But back at the biggest stage, there were more misses than hits in the qualification round which wasn’t telecast on TV.
Once the final results were out, the fear became a reality.
Arjun Babuta/Ramita Jindal finished sixth and Sandeep Singh/Elavenil Valarivan were 12th — none in the top four or the medal matches.
The only medal opportunity for India on Day 1 of the 2024 Summer Olympic Games went up in smoke, and so did the hope. Especially when Sarabjot Singh missed out on a place in the final by hitting one fewer inner 10s than a German shooter.
Chin up @Sarabjotsingh30 you got this … pic.twitter.com/N65JtjavX2
— Gagan Narang (@gaGunNarang) July 27, 2024In men’s 10m air rifle, only eight can qualify for the final.
Sarabjot had the same number of points as eighth-placed Robin Walter in the qualification but the German qualified by hitting one more bullseye than the Indian.
That trepidation went up by a notch.
Next up were the women’s 10m air pistol shooters, including Bhaker.
She was once a gold medal hope going into the Tokyo Olympics at just 19, after winning the Junior World Cup. However, it turned into a nightmare as she failed to advance to the final in all three of her events – women’s 10m air pistol, women’s 25m pistol, and mixed 10m air pistol.
In one of those events, her pistol malfunctioned as she narrowly missed out on a spot in the final.
Bhaker, however, bounced back in the Indian team by emerging as the most successful shooter in the Olympic Selection Trials (OST). But the shooter who was vilified the most after the Tokyo, possibly because of her colourful social media presence or probably because we love to see people fall, still had to clear the qualification hurdle on the biggest stage the world has to offer.
She had failed thrice earlier.
On Saturday, Bhaker showed that she was well past Tokyo 2020.
As the qualification began, the Haryana shooter started hitting 10s consistently. There were a few 9s, but they were rare. Her first 8 appeared in the penultimate Series 5, and she finished third in the qualifying with a score of 580 and 27 inner 10 hits. To reiterate, 27 perfect scores in the qualification round, the highest for any shooter, as Bhaker reached her first Olympic final.
She is the first Indian female shooter to reach an Olympic final in an individual event for the last 20 years. The first one was after Suma Shirur, who reached the final of the 10m air rifle event in Athens 2004.
She is also the first Indian woman shooter to qualify for the 10m air pistol final at the Olympics.
On Sunday, the final will be doubly difficult, but it’s time to make history — at least, that’s the hope.
Watching sports and writing about it are my favourite things in life and I try to bring you the best from the sporting world at Firstpost. see more
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