Paris Olympics 2024: Star shooter Manu Bhaker set to be India’s flagbearer in closing ceremony

Manu Bhaker, India's two-time Olympic bronze medallist, has been chosen to be India's flagbearer for the closing ceremony of the Paris Olympics. According to sources from the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), Bhaker will represent India as the women's flagbearer during the event.

India's men's flagbearer for the ceremony is yet to be confirmed. The closing ceremony of the Paris Olympics will take place on August 11. Bhaker excelled in Paris, earning two bronze medals and setting several new records.

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The Paris Olympics has been a redemption for the 22-year-old shooter. During the 10m air pistol qualification round in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, her gun malfunctioned, which led to a loss of time.

She was left with a very short amount of time to carry out her quota of shots. She missed the top-eight finish required to qualify for the final round and finished in the 12th spot.

Bhaker opened India's medal tally in the ongoing Olympics after she secured third place in the women's individual 10m Air pistol event. Following that, Sarabjot Singh and Bhaker won the Bronze medal in the 10m air pistol (mixed team) event.

She had a shot at returning with three medals from Paris. But in her final event, she narrowly missed out on the historic grand treble and finished fourth in the women's 25m pistol shooting event. She missed out on the opportunity to become the first Indian to win three medals at the Olympics.

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Manu Bhaker has made history as the first athlete from independent India to win two medals in a single edition of the Paris Olympics. Before her, Norman Pritchard was the only Indian to achieve multiple medals in the Olympics, winning two silver medals in the 1900 Games in Paris in the 200m and 200m hurdles.

Bhaker's achievement places her alongside other notable Indian Olympians with multiple individual medals: PV Sindhu, who secured a silver in badminton at Rio 2016 and a bronze at Tokyo 2020, and Sushil Kumar, who earned a bronze in wrestling at Beijing 2008 and a silver at London 2012.