"She has two more events and we expect her to do better" -Manu's father Ram Bhaker backs her to return with multi-medal haul from Paris Olympics

It took Manu Bhaker a long time to make peace with the heartbreak in the Tokyo Olympics that resulted out of a technical snag in her pistol. There was a sense of sourness, and an unusual distaste for the Summer Games in the Japanese capital city, where she came as a teenaged sensation showing great prospects of becoming the poster girl of Indian shooting.

On Sunday, during the women’s 10m Air Pistol event final at the Chateauroux Shooting Centre, Manu, now 22, broke into a smile after she missed the silver by 0.1, the barest of margins to end as India’s first ever female Olympic medalist in shooting.

Also this was India’s first shooting medal after 12 years; Gagan Narang and Vijay Kumar won it in London. Indian shooting endured two Olympics without a medal before Manu ended the drought.

Elated at their daughter’s historic feat, Manu's parents Ram Kishan Bhaker and Sumedha Bhaker hailed the support from the government and the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI), while her grandmother has already planned a grand welcome for the young markswoman.

“This is a proud moment not only for the family but for the entire nation. She’s representing 1.4 billion Indians and we as parents back her through all ups and downs. She has two more events and we expect her to do better,” Ram Kishan told Sportskeeda in a brief chat.

“I would also thank the government and the federation (NRAI) for supporting Manu and all the athletes competing at the Olympics. Hopefully, we can return with a record medal haul from Paris,” he added.

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"I wish to bag as many medals as possible" - Manu Bhaker opens up to broadcasters after medal win

In her first-ever interaction after opening India’s medal tally in Paris, the Jhajjar-born Manu told the host broadcaster that the feeling was surreal although she wishes to change the color of her medal in the future.

“I wish India to bag as many medals as possible. The entire team has worked very hard, and personally, the feeling is surreal. I feel that I did a good job and put in a lot of effort. Even in the last shot, I was fighting with all the energy I had. This was a bronze, and I am grateful that I could win a bronze for India. Maybe next time will be better,” said Manu.

“Honestly, I read a lot of the Gita, and what was going through my mind was to just do what I was meant to do. In the Gita, Krishna tells Arjun to focus on the karma and not the outcome, so that was all I was thinking about,” she added.