Ace Shooters Manu-Sarabjot's Inspiring Journey from Haryana to Paris 2024

Pranjal Pratim Das

India’s Manu Bhaker and Sarabjot Singh clinched bronze medals after recording a 16-10 victory over Republic of Korea following 13 shots in the final round of 10m air pistol mixed team event at the Paris Olympics 2024.

This was Manu Bhaker’s second Bronze medal at Paris 2024. She becomes the first Indian to bag two medals in any single Olympic edition. She also has the chance to win a third medal in the women’s 25m pistol event.

Manu Bhaker and Sarabjot Singh qualified for the Bronze Medal shoot-off with a score of 580 in the 10m Air Pistol Mixed Qualification Round.

Here is a look into the profiles of the two Indian shooter:

Sarabjot Singh

Sarabjot Singh has been a Khelo India athlete since 2019 and has participated in 4 Khelo India Games as well as is a Target Olympic Podium Scheme athlete.

Key Government Intervention (Paris Cycle)

•        Assistance for training and participation in international competitions from 17th Jan, 2023 to 18th Feb, 2023 along with coach.

•        Assistance towards expenses of personal trainer, Mr. Abhishek Rana for attending the Volmerange OTC (scheduled by NRAI) and the Paris OG 2024 (at Chateauroux) along with the shooter (July 10 to Aug 01, 2024 - 23 Days).

Financial Assistance (Paris Cycle)

Under TOPS: Rs. 20,24,928/-

Under Annual Calendar for Training and Competitions (ACTC) Rs.1,26,20,970/-

Achievements

Asian Games (2022) - Gold medal in team event & Silver medal in mixed team event. Asian Championship, Korea (2023) - Bronze medal in the 10m air pistol individual event along with Olympics 2024 quota place for the Country

World Cup, Bhopal (2023) - Gold medal in the Individual event

World Cup, Baku, (2023) - Gold medal in mixed team event

Junior World Cup, Suhl (2022) - 1 Gold medal in team event and 2 Silver medals in individual & mixed team events.

Junior World Championship, Lima (2021) - 2 Gold medals in team and mixed team events.

Background

Sarabjot hails from Dheen village of Ambala, Haryana. He is the son of Jatinder Singh, a farmer and Hardeep Kaur, a homemaker. He studied at DAV College, Chandigarh. He trains under Coach Abhishek Rana.

Sarabjot Singh saw a few kids wielding air guns at a makeshift range during a summer camp. He was 13 then and harboured hopes of becoming a footballer. But the sight of kids aiming at paper targets with pistols didn't leave his mind. In 2014, He went to his father and said, 'Dad, I want to pursue shooting. His father Jitender Singh, a farmer, told his son that the sport is pretty expensive. But eventually, Sarabjot insisted for months to play shooting and he won the Gold medal at Junior World Championship, Suhl in 2019.

Manu Bhaker

Manu has been a former competitor of the Khelo India Games and is a Target Olympic Podium Scheme Athlete.

Earlier performance at Paris 2024:

Manu finished third and in the process, clinched the bronze medal in the women’s 10m air pistol event, which is also the first medal for India at the Paris 2024 Olympics. She finished the final round with a score of 221.7.

Manu is still to compete in the 25m women’s pistol competition at Paris 2024

Key Government Intervention (Paris cycle)

·       Assistance for ammunition

·        Assistance towards weapon servicing, pellet and ammunition testing and barrel selection.

·        Assistance towards training with personal coach Mr. Jaspal Rana at Luxembourg for the preparation towards OG 2024

Financial Assistance (Paris cycle)

 Under TOPS: Rs. 28,78,634/-

 Under Annual Calendar for Training and Competition (ACTC): Rs. 1,35,36,155/-

Achievements

Asian Games (2022) - Gold Medal in 25m Pistol Team

World Championship, Baku (2023) - Gold Medal in 25m Pistol Team

Asian Shooting Championship, Changwon (2023) - bagged Paris Games 2024 Quota with 5th finish in 25m Pistol.

World Cup, Bhopal (2023) - Bronze Medal in 25m Pistol

World Championship, Cairo (2022) - Silver Medal in 25m Pistol

World University Games, Chengdu (2021) - 2 Gold Medals in 10m Air pistol individual and women’s team event.

Background

Born in Jhajjar, Haryana, a state known for its boxers and wrestlers, Manu took to sports like tennis, skating and boxing in school. She also participated in a form of martial arts called ‘thang ta’, winning medals at the national level. She then impulsively decided to try her hand at shooting when she was just 14 – just after the 2016 Rio Olympics ended – and loved it.

At the 2017 National Shooting Championships, Bhaker stunned Olympian and former world No. 1 Heena Sidhu and won 9 gold medals. Manu shot a record score of 242.3 to erase Sidhu’s mark to win the 10m Air Pistol final. 2018 was Bhaker’s breakthrough year as a shooter as she became a teenage sensation bagging a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games just at the age of 16.

In the 2018 International Shooting Sport Federation World Cup held at Guadalajara, Mexico. Bhaker won the gold medal in the Women's 10-metre air pistol, defeating Mexico's Alejandra Zavala, a two-time champion.

Manu Bhaker also sealed an Olympics quota place with a fourth-place finish at the 2019 Munich ISSF World Cup. However, her debut at the Games did not go as planned. Shortly after Tokyo 2020, Manu Bhaker became the junior world champion in the women's 10m air pistolat Lima and did win the women's 25m pistol silver at the 2022 Cairo World Championships and gold in the same event at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou.

Also Read: Wonder Girl Manu Bhaker Etches History; Bags Two Medals in a Single Olympic