"Will cherish forever": Manu Bhaker on being named India's flagbearer at Olympics closing ceremony

New Delhi [India], August 5 : Ace shooter Manu Bhaker has said it is a privilege to be named as India's flagbearer for the closing ceremony of the Olympics and leading the Indian contingent with the Tricolour is an opportunity she will always cherish.
The closing ceremony of the Paris Olympics which will take place on August 11 at Stade de France.
The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) earlier issued a statement confirming Bhaker as India's flagbearer on Monday. The choice of the other flag-bearer will be made later.
After the announcement, Bhaker took to X to express her joy.
"It is an honour and privilege to be named as India's flagbearer for the Closing Ceremony of the Paris Olympics. Leading the outstanding Indian contingent with the tricolour in my hands with millions around the world watching is a truly humbling opportunity and one that I will cherish forever. I am grateful to The IOA for considering me worthy of this honour, and I look forward to raising the Indian flag with immense pride. Jai Hind!" Bhaker wrote on X.
https://x.com/realmanubhaker/status/1820457345694208448
In the Summer Games in Paris, Bhaker brought her A-game and earned two bronze medals for India.
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, becoming the first-ever woman shooter to win an Olympic medal for India. Following that, Sarabjot Singh and Bhaker won the Bronze medal in the 10m air pistol (mixed team) event, which was India's first-ever shooting team medal.
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.
Bhaker is the first athlete from the Indian contingent after independence to get two medals in a single edition of the Paris Olympics.
Earlier in the 1900 Olympics, Norman Pritchard won two medals while representing India, both silver in the 200m and 200m hurdles.
Bhaker also joined an elite group of athletes to have multiple individual medals at the Olympics: PV Sindhu (badminton silver at Rio 2016 and bronze medal at Tokyo 2020) and Sushil Kumar (wrestling bronze at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and silver medal at the 2012 London Olympics).