16-year-old Manu Bhaker bags India’s first-ever gold in shooting at Youth Olympics

Manu Bhaker on Tuesday clinched India's first-ever Youth Olympics gold medal in shooting on Tuesday. 

Manu scored 236.5 points to bag the yellow metal in the Women's 10m Air Pistol event in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Iana Enina (235.9) of Russia won the silver while Georgia’s Nino Khutsiberidze (214.6) settled for the bronze. 

After a series of slumps, in the Asian Games and the ISSF Changwon World Championships, the 16-year-old teenager from Haryana got off to a solid start in the final with seven scores of 10 (and above) in the first stage (99.3). 

With two shots of 9.8 and a 10.1 and 9.9, Bhaker (138.9) extended her lead after the first two rounds of elimination. In the final round, She edged past a resilient Iana Enina (235.9) by 0.6 points to bag the yellow metal.

"This is an important win for me. It will be a morale booster (after the Asian Games disappointment) as I look forward with an aim to bring home more laurels," Bhaker said.  "I have always tried to give my best and sometimes there may not be success. But the endeavour is to do well, shoot well, shoot high scores. It is satisfying, " she added. 

The teenager from Jhajjar, Haryana had earlier won gold at the Commonwealth Games ín Gold Coast, Junior World (Sydney)  and the ISSF World Cup in Mexico (Individual and mixed).  Bhaker also bagged a podium finish in the 2017 Asian Junior Championships with a silver medal. 

(With PTI inputs)