Paris [France], July 30 : Former shooter and Asian Games, Commonwealth Games medalist Ronjan Sodhi backed star shooter Manu Bhaker to get a hat-trick of medals during the ongoing Paris Olympics.
India's shooting ace Manu Bhaker made history on Tuesday when she became the first Indian women's athlete to win a second medal at the same Olympics. Bhaker and her partner Sarabjot Singh secured bronze in the 10 m air pistol mixed team event. Earlier, Bhaker had won bronze in the women's individual 10M air pistol event.
Manu-Sarabjot beat South Korea's Lee Wonho and Oh Ye Jin 16-10 in the bronze medal play-off match. With this medal, India's medal tally increases to two at the Paris Olympics. Both Bhaker and Sarabjot shot consistently with regular 10s in the series against the Koreans.
Speaking to ANI, Ronjan said that Manu has made everyone proud and could get a hat-trick of medals when she plays the 25 m pistol event.
"It is a big event. She has done everyone proud. We lost one medal by decimals yesterday. I do not think any shooter has done what she has done. She was not even a favourite at these two events. She is yet to shoot at the event where she is a favourite. I feel that she will have a hattrick of medals this time," said Ronjan.
Ronjan also lauded Manu for her hunger, noting that while athletes often feel complacent and relieved after their first Olympic medal, she is not done chasing medals yet, showing her immense hunger.
The former shooter also lauded young shooter Sarabjot, saying that what he did during his debut Olympics with Manu is not easy.
"He is a youngster, and both (Sarabjot and Manu) complemented each other really well. I think that it is not easy to do that in your first Olympics," he added.
Ronjan also backed India to outdo their 2012 London Olympics tally in shooting, when they got two medals, Vijay Kumar's silver in men's 25 m rapid fire pistol and Gagan Narang's bronze in 10 m air rifle.
"110 per cent (on if India will outdo their 2012 Olympics tally in shooting. I am sure we will have a really great outing," he concluded.
Earlier on Monday, Manu-Sarabjot secured 580-20x points in total to finish third, The gold medal match will take place between Turkiye (582-18x) and Serbia (581-24x).
In the qualification round of the mixed team 10 m air pistol event, each member of a team got to shoot a total of 30 shots in a time span of 30 minutes. Each series of shots consists of 10 shots per player and 20 in total. The top four teams got the privilege of qualifying for medal rounds, with the top two teams playing for gold and the third and fourth-placed teams locking horns for bronze.
Manu-Sarabjot, sat at six with 193 points, with Manu getting 98 and Sarabjot getting 95. In their second series, Manu and Sarabjot secured a total of 195 points, with Manu getting 98 and Sarabjot getting 97.
In their third series, Manu-Sarabjot secured 192 points, with Manu getting 95 points and Sarabjot getting 97 points.
At the end of all three series, Manu-Sarabjot had the final score of 580-20x.
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