Teenage shooting star Manu Bhaker has been named as the flag-bearer of the Indian contingent for the 3rd Youth Olympic Games to be held in Buenos Aires, Argentina from October 6 to 18.
Indian Olympic Association (IOA) President Narinder Batra announced during the send-off ceremony held at New Delhi that the 16-year-old Manu will lead the Indian team in the opening ceremony.
It is a great honour for me. I never expected to be the flag-bearer for the Indian contingent,ÔÇØ said Manu.
Manu had won gold in the women’s 10m air pistol at the Commonwealth Games and at this year’s first ISSF World Cup.
A total of 46 athletes, including 4 shooters — Manu, Mehuli Ghosh, Saurabh Chaudhary and Shahu Mane — left for Argentina on Tuesday to compete in 13 sports. The 4 shooters will be among the top medal contenders for India.
Manu and the Asian Games champion Saurabh will be aiming for gold in the women’s and men’s 10m air pistol events respectively. The duo can also pair up for the air pistol mixed event. Commonwealth Games silver medallist Mehuli will be vying for gold in the women’s 10m air rifle. Tushar can pair up with Mehuli in the air rifle mixed event apart from competing in the men’s air rifle individual event. The schedule says mixed international team which means individuals from different countries making the pairs, depending on the individual performance.
The send-off ceremony was also attended by Sports Minister and Olympic silver medallist Rajyavardhan Rathore.