Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir hail Manu Bhaker, Sarabjot Singh for shooting bronze in Paris Olympics

The legendary Sachin Tendulkar led the way as India's cricket fraternity lauded shooters Manu Bhaker and Sarabjot Singh for clinching the country's second medal at the Paris Olympics. Mannu and Sarabjot won bronze in the 10m air pistol mixed team event on Tuesday, beating the Korean duo of Lee Wonoho and Oh Yeh Jin 16-10 at Chateauroux's shooting range.

Manu also became the first athlete of independent India to win two Olympic medals in a single edition of the Games. She had won bronze in the 10m air pistol individual event to India off the mark a couple of days ago, wiping off the memories of a horrendous Olympic debut in Tokyo 2020, where her pistol malfunctioned, leaving her in tears.

Before her, British-Indian athlete Norman Pritchard had won two silver medals in 200m sprint and 200m hurdles at the 1900 Olympics but that achievement had come in the pre-Independence era.

Manu also became only the third Indian after wrestler Sushil Kumar and badminton ace PV Sindhu to win double Olympic medals in individual events.

While it is a massive achievement for women's sport in the country, Tuesday's medal is also redemption for Sarabjot, who had failed to make the men's 10m air pistol final because of one less inner 10, finishing ninth on Saturday with a score of 577.

Congratulating Sarabjot and Manu, Tendulkar wrote on X: "You two have brought our medal no. 2! Congratulations, @realmanubhaker & @Sarabjotsingh30 for winning the 🥉 in the 10m air pistol mixed team event. The entire nation stands tall with pride! 🇮🇳 Special mention to @realmanubhaker for creating history by becoming the first Indian in independent India to win 2 medals at the same Olympics!"

Former India head opener and current India head coach Gautam Gambhir called Manu and Sarbjot's achievement "superb". "Superb performance @realmanubhaker and #SarabjotSingh! 🇮🇳’s second medal!" he wrote on X.

Newly-appointed India T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav extended his wishes to the young 22-year-old Indian shooters.

"2nd Medal! 🥉🇮🇳 Congratulations @Sarabjotsingh30 🫡 @realmanubhaker - Congratulations on your second consecutive medal!!" he said.

Former India batter and current head of the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru said: "Many congratulations to Manu Bhaker & Sarabjot Singh for their wonderful win in the Air Pistol Mixed team event to win India's 2nd medal in Paris. Kudos to @realmanubhaker for becoming the first Indian to win multiple medals in a single edition. You guys have made us super proud."

Manu's Paris Olympics is far from over. She will be competing in the 25m air pistol individual rounds, eyeing for a third medal.