Manu Bhaker's bronze medal win at the Paris Olympics has assured that the women have arrived in shooting, coach Suma Shirur said in an exclusive interview with India TV. Manu created history at the ongoing Olympic Games as she became the first-ever woman to win a shooting medal at the Games.
The 22-year-old Manu clinched a bronze at the 10m air pistol final as she finished with a score of 221.7 in the eight-shooters field. Manu's win also ended a 12-year-old wait for India for a shooting medal. Meanwhile, the Indian shooting coach Suma Shirur also opened up on Manu's achievement, stating that this win points out that the Indian women have arrived in shooting.
"This (medal) was a long due. No Indian woman had qualified for the shooting final in the Olympics after me 20 years earlier. But now not just the finals, the jinx has been broken with a medal. The win is a stamp that the women have arrived in shooting," she said to India TV's Sports Editor Samip Rajguru during an interaction in Paris.
While Manu won the medal on day 2 of the Games, two more Indians confirmed a place in the finals after their qualification round on the same. Ramita Jindal and Arjun Babuta will feature in the women's and men's 10m air rifle final. Shirur highlighted this too. "Not just Manu, Ramita and Arjun are also in the finals. When athletes perform, it shows that the team is doing well," she added.
Shirur said that the shooting team has worked with great detail for these Games. "We prepared with great details for these Games. Not only for the scores, we worked hard on the technical aspect too. I was confident in the preparation. I have been very confident and I have complete faith in the shooters," she added.
Shirur also analysed Manu's performance in the final, highlighting how mature she has become from the Tokyo Games. "I was looking at Manu yesterday (in qualification). After seeing her match, I saw that Manu has evolved (as compared to her Tokyo outing). She has become a next-level athlete and I was confident that she will do well. She was on song," the coach said.
Apart from Manu, Ramita and Arjun will be seen in action in their individual finals. Ramita finished fifth in the women's 10m air rifle qualification round and booked her place in the medal match, set to be held at 1 PM IST on July 29.
Arjun Babuta also qualified in the 10m air rifle final in the men's category and is set to feature in the medal match at 3:30 PM IST on July 29.
Watch Suma Shirur's interview with India TV:
