Olympics-Shooting-Bhaker hopes her Paris feat is just the start for India’s women athletes

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CHATEAUROUX, France (Reuters) – Indian shooter Manu Bhaker, the country’s first multi-medallist at a single Olympic Games, hopes her feat in Paris will help to unlock the potential of other women athletes in the world’s most populous nation.

“It’s a long journey, let’s keep going and let’s not settle for these two medals,” Bhaker said as she held up her bronze medals outside the Chateauroux Shooting Centre.

“Let’s hope for many more medals in this Olympics and subsequent events,” added Bhaker, who won the women’s 10-metre air pistol bronze and the same medal in the mixed team event with Sarabjot Singh to open India’s medal count in Paris.

India surpassed neighbour and powerhouse China as the world’s most populous country last year, with more than 1.43 billion people, but remains an Olympic laggard.

Shooter Abhinav Bindra won India’s first individual Olympic gold in 2008, while Neeraj Chopra’s victory in men’s javelin in Tokyo three years ago was India’s first in track and field.

Bhaker’s double success on Tuesday prompted a call from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and an avalanche of congratulatory messages but Bhaker is not celebrating yet as she chases a third medal in the women’s 25-metre pistol later this week.

Social media back home is abuzz with her exploits and the 22-year-old Bhaker hopes her success will have an impact.

“I don’t know what’s trending on social media but I hope a lot of parents would push their daughters to try different sports,” she said.

“My parents were so supportive of me in choosing any sport or any cultural activity, anything,” she said.

“Even today, if I say ‘I don’t want to do this, I’ll learn classical dance or something’, they’ll support that too.

“If the women of our country get that kind of support, I think we as a nation can grow. There’s a lot of scope for improvement.”

Bhaker hails from the north Indian state of Haryana, which has emerged as a hub for Olympic sport in India despite the state’s male bias and a skewed sex ratio.

The state also produced India cricketer Shafali Verma, who had to crop her hair short and masquerade as a boy in order to pursue the game.