Manu Bhaker Set To Be India's Flagbearer in Paris Olympics 2024 Closing Ceremony

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India's double Olympic bronze medallist Manu Bhaker is set to be India's flagbearer in the Paris Olympics 2024 closing ceremony, scheduled to be held next Sunday (August 11).

Accoring to sources in the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), the star shooter Bhaker will be India's women's flagbearer in the closing ceremony. India's men's flagbearer for the ceremony is yet to be confirmed.

If officially confirmed, Bhaker will join the likes of Bajrang Punia, Mary Kom, Sakshi Malik and Vijender Singh as India's flagbearer in the closing ceremony of the recent five Olympic Games.

In the opening ceremony, shuttler PV Sindhu and paddler Achanta Sharath Kamal were the flagbearers for India. Now, Bhaker, who redeemed herself from early heartbreak in Tokyo 2020 is all set to carry the country's flag as a two-time medal winner.

The star shooter has already said it would be a privelege and honour of a lifetime if she is named the flagbearer for the closing ceremony, scheduled to be held on August 11.

"That would be a privilege and an honour of a lifetime. But however what people give me I'll take. It will be an honour," Bhaker had said earlier in an interview with NDTV.

The 22-year-old Bhaker opened India's medal tally in the ongoing Olympics after she secured third place in the women's individual 10m Air pistol event. Following that, Sarabjot Singh and Bhaker won the Bronze medal in the 10m air pistol (mixed team) event.

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. But 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.

With the two bronze medals, Bhaker joined the likes of 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).