New Delhi, August 7: Star pistol shooter Manu Bhaker met Congress Parliamentary Party chief Sonia Gandhi as she returned to the country on Wednesday after her historic feat of winning two medals in a single edition of the Olympic Games.
Bhaker met Gandhi at the latter's 10, Janpath residence here. Sources said Gandhi congratulated Bhaker on her historic feat and wished her for her future endeavours. Olympic Medalist Manu Bhaker Meets Sonia Gandhi in Delhi After Scripting History at Paris Olympics 2024 (See Pic and Video).
Olympic Medallist Manu Bhaker Meets Sonia Gandhi
Olympics medalist @realmanubhaker meets Sonia Gandhi, Chairperson of Congress Parliamentary Party. pic.twitter.com/37J89JRGtE
— Arvind Gunasekar (@arvindgunasekar) August 7, 2024
Earlier in the day, as Bhaker landed in the country, she was welcomed by hundreds of supporters and her family, who braved a steady drizzle to give her a memorable reception. The Air India flight (AI 142) that brought Bhaker from Paris to Delhi landed at the Indira Gandhi International airport here at around 9:20 am, delayed by an hour.
Manu Bhaker Leaving Sonia Gandhi's Residence
#WATCH | Olympic medalist Manu Bhaker leaves from the residence of Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi after meeting her, in Delhi pic.twitter.com/Dr7mTsYeNf
— ANI (@ANI) August 7, 2024
Hundreds of people, who waited at the airport long before her arrival despite the morning drizzle in the city, accorded her and her coach Jaspal Rana an enthusiastic reception. Bhaker (22) won a bronze each in the women's 10-metre air pistol and 10-metre air pistol mixed team event -- where she had paired with Sarabjot Singh -- to script Olympic history for India.
Before her, only British-Indian athlete Norman Pritchard had achieved the rare landmark for the country with his two silver medals in 200-metre sprint and 200-metre hurdles at the 1900 Olympics, but that happened in the pre-Independence era.