Union Minister Kiren Rijiju met Manu Bhaker on Saturday at his residence and shared "special joy" interacting with the Double-Olympic medallist. After her heartbreaking Tokyo Olympics campaign, where she fell short of winning a medal due to a pistol malfunction, the 22-year-old Manu created history at the 2024 Paris Olympics, becoming the first Indian to win two medals in a single Olympic edition post-Independence.
"There's a special JOY in meeting our athletes who make India proud on the world stage. Interacted with Double-Olympic medalist @realmanubhaker at my residence today. Her devotion, passion & commitment are shaping the dreams of the next generation of athletes," Rijiju posted on X.
She bagged her first medal at the Paris Olympics when she clinched the bronze in women’s 10m air pistol. Just days later, she teamed up with Sarabjot Singh to win bronze in the 10m air pistol mixed team event. Just days later, she teamed up with Sarabjot Singh to win bronze in the 10m air pistol mixed team event.
She also came tantalisingly close to her historic third medal before finishing fourth in the women's 25m pistol event. Manu was initially tied for third place with former world record holder (25m pistol) Veronika Major of Hungary before she dropped two points in the shoot-off series to hand the Hungarian a podium finish.
In the recently concluded ISSF World Championships in Cairo, she missed out on a medal. She scored 586 in the rapid-fire rounds with confidence, easily moving into the top eight. But in the final, Esha Singh and France's Mathilde Lamolle advanced with a perfect five, while she lost in the shoot-off with just two hits.