Manu Bhaker had a small, awkward moment before quickly correcting herself while receiving the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award from President Droupadi Murmu on Friday at Rashtrapati Bhavan during the National Sports Awards 2024. Bhaker was one of four athletes honoured with the country’s highest sports award, alongside Harmanpreet Singh, D Gukesh, and para-athlete Praveen Kumar.

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The incident happened as Bhaker was about to accept her award. While her achievements were being announced, she started walking toward the President but stopped midway when she realised the announcer wasn’t done. Smiling slightly, she waited a moment before continuing forward to receive her award.

Watch the video here: 

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At 22, Bhaker made history as the first Indian athlete to win two medals in a single Olympic edition. She earned bronze medals in the 10m air pistol individual and 10m air pistol mixed team events at the Paris Olympics last year.

She also became the first Indian female shooter to win an Olympic medal. Bhaker came close to adding a third medal but narrowly missed out, finishing fourth in the women’s 25m air pistol event.

Have been training since last 2.5 months: Manu

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After being felicitated with the prestigious Major DhyanChand Khel Ratna Award, India's two-time olympic medalist shooter Manu Bhaker shared that she has been training for the last two and a half months and is expected to be back in action at competitions from February onwards.

"It is an honour for me to receive the Khel Ratna award. It is one of the biggest honours in the country. This award will motivate and inspire me in the future to win more medals for the country," she said.

At the Paris Olympics 2024, Manu Bhaker became the first Indian to win two Olympic medals in a single edition, securing bronze in both the 10m air pistol individual and mixed team events.

(with inputs from agencies)